Tony's Surprise
by NCISisbest
Summary: Tony finds out he has a seven-year-old son Tim- McGee- when the mother comes to him with a final request. Will now include some Tiva. Nothing explicit. The main focus is still on Tony and Tim's relationship as father/son.
1. Chapter 1

_Tony finds out he has a 7-year-old son, when the mother comes to him with a final request._

_This is my first fanfiction story… ever._

_I do not own NCIS… obviously._

Tony Dinozzo entered the NCIS building with his trademark grin on his face. As usual, his hair was perfectly groomed, and he wore an expensive suit and his favorite Gucci shoes. His best friend, Jimmy Palmer (a.k.a Autopsy Gremlin—the nickname Tony jokingly bestowed upon him), was sitting at his desk, waiting for him. A smile lit on Jimmy's face, when he spotted his friend. Across the semi-enclosed area, Ziva, Tony's partner sat smirking. "You are late, Dinozzo." She remarked, her exotic, Israeli accent punctuating each word. Tony sidled up to her desk and just grinned.

"Yes," he said. "But Gibbs isn't here. He doesn't know."

Jimmy interrupted the pair's flirting session. "Tony! Hey, you want to go see a movie tonight? Ziva, you can come to if you want."

"Sure, Jimbo!" Tony replied, just as one Leroy Jethro Gibbs walked in the room.

"Dinozzo!" the man barked. "You're late. It's 7:45, you were supposed to be here 15 minutes ago."

"Sorry, Boss. You see there was this accident on the highway, and so there was all this traffic; I didn't even have time to…" Gibbs head- slapped Tony, effectively cutting off the rambling that was to come. Jimmy winced for his friend, and started toward the elevator. He needed to get down to autopsy before Ducky arrived. Ziva just continued to smirk.

Suddenly, Tony's cell phone began to ring. "Very special Agent Dinozzo," Tony greeted.

"Tony?" A quiet voice questioned.

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Alexandria. Do you remember me?"

"Alex, of course. How are you?"

"Tony, can we meet. It's urgent."

"Sure," Tony replied, confused as to why his ex-girlfriend (who he hadn't been on pleasant terms with when they broke up almost eight years prior) was calling him.

"How about tonight? Your place. I'll meet you there, 8:00. I need to go now. Bye Tony."

Ziva looked at Tony's perplexed face. "Who was that, Tony?" she questioned, eager for juicy gossip details. "Angry ex-girlfriend. Or angry ex-boyfriend?" She said teasingly.

"Haha, Zi-VAH. I only leave satisfied exes."

"Aha, so you admit to the boyfriends!"

"Wha-what!" Tony sputtered. He hadn't really been paying attention to her questions, to busy wondering why Alex had called after so long.

"Hey!" Gibbs barked. Hanging up the cell phone he had also been on. "We've got a dead marine at Quantico. Call Ducky."

Tony smiled; he was glad to have a distraction until the meeting tonight (dead marine aside). Otherwise he'd probably be completely sidetracked all day by the unexpected call.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was 7:30. The case had been simple; an angry lover had found her husband cheating on her. Murder ensued, blah, blah, blah. Tony was just glad he was done in time to meet with Alex. Despite the case, Tony's mind had been on Alex. What did she want? Why the call after so long? His obvious disinterest in the case resulted in many questions from Ziva and even more head-slaps from Gibbs.

Now, a mere five minutes from home, Tony was actually a bit nervous. He and Alex had been very serious back in the day, but a fairly nasty break-up had caused a lot of friction between the two, and they hadn't talked since.

Climbing up the stairs to his apartment, Tony was shocked to see a very fragile Alex and a young boy sitting on the floor waiting. "Hey," Tony said gently, helping her up, "you don't look so good. Why don't you come inside?"

Opening the door, Tony helped the woman sit on the couch. The boy just stared at him suspiciously.

"Timmy," the woman addressed the boy. "This is Tony. Remember I was telling you about him?"

Large green eyes stared into Tony's. "Hi there Timmy," Tony said. "How old are you?"

"Almost eight." the boy replied shyly.

Tony's eyebrows rose a bit. The boy didn't look a day older than five.

Suddenly, Alex spoke up. "Tony, is there somewhere I could speak to you alone?"

"Err, sure." Tony said. "We can talk in my bedroom."

They entered the bedroom, Alex looking frailer than ever. "Just like you to take the girl right to your room, Tony," she wheezed, deep breaths sounding painful in her chest.

"Alex?" Tony asked worriedly, "Are you okay. You don't sound so good. Are you okay?"

"Tony, listen to me. I don't have long. This is my third bout with cancer. Timmy, he's your son. I'm dying; I don't have anyone to take care of him. He has special medical needs. He would do terribly in a group home. He's so smart too." She stopped and gasped for breath, "Tony, please. Promise me. Promise you'll take care of him."

Tony looked at her, shocked. "Me? A dad? No, no, that's impossible." As he heard her gasp again, Tony came to his senses. "Alex, we need to get you to a hospital."

"No! Promise me." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Promise, Tony. No foster homes. Promise."

"I-I promise." Tony said. With that, Alex breathed her last.

"Shit!" Tony exclaimed. Pulling off her jacket, Tony began CPR. So focused on the rescue breaths and the chest compressions, he didn't notice the small boy enter until he spoke.

"Is-is she dead?" Timmy's voice wavered as he tried to look brave.

Tony stopped with the CPR. He already knew it would be useless. Quickly, he pulled a sheet over the dead woman.

"Hey, buddy," Tony said softly, bending down so he could see eye-to-eye with the child. "Yeah, she is. I'm so sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

_So, I wanted to make things nice and hard on Tony… I like torturing characters I write about. Here goes. _

Tony sat down against the wall next to the softly crying boy. Carefully, Tony put his arm around the boy's shoulder and eventually pulled him into a hug. All the while, his mind was racing. "I've got to call Gibbs and Jimmy. Funeral arrangements. Holy cow, my life has just done a complete 180." But utmost on his mind was the small boy in his arms. "Gosh, how the heck am I going to take care of a kid who just lost his mom?"

An hour later, Tim had fallen asleep in his father's arms, so Tony carried him to the couch and proceeded to call Gibbs.

"Gibbs," a gruff voiced answered.

"Boss?" Tony voice came across as scared, something completely new for the strong, capable NCIS agent. Warning bells started going off in Gibbs' head.

"Tony? Tony? What's wrong?"

"Oh God, boss, everything. I'm a dad, boss. But the mom, she just died. She's still at my house. Oh God boss, what am I going to do?"

"Tony!" Gibbs exclaimed, "Sit down; I'll be there in 10."

Now that was done, Tony felt a load better. He started to make coffee, knowing that it was going to be a long, long night.

Ten minutes, on the dot, later, Gibbs was rapping on the door. Tony jumped to attention, not wanting to wake up Tim. "Boss," he reprimanded, "Shh. He's sleeping." Gibbs cracked a small smile at already seeing the "dad side" of Tony.

"Ducky's on his way." Gibbs informed Tony, as he began to sniff the coffee filled air.

Tony went into the kitchen and brought out two steaming mugs of coffee. Gibbs gratefully accepted his and stared at Tim who was still sleeping.

"How old is he?" Gibbs asked.

"Seven," Tony replied, "His name is Tim. That's all I know Boss. Alex, that's his mom, told me to take care of him and she just passed away. She said he has special medical needs, Boss. I want Ducky to check him out when he gets here. Is Jimmy coming too?"

"Jimmy and Ziva'll be here soon. Abby is on her way to the lab."

"Thanks Boss."

The pair sat in relative silence, each buried in their own thoughts, until the door was again knocked on. This time, Tim did wake up as Gibbs went to let the rest of the gang in. Tony went to sit next to Tim.

"Hey there little guy," he said. "These are some of my colleagues and friends. They're going to help us take care of your mom. Okay?" Tim just nodded and laid his head down on the pillow. It was already almost 10:00, and way past the little boy's bedtime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Gibbs was explaining the situation to the group at the door. All of them were shocked at the suddenness of everything. Alex was going to have to be moved back to NCIS. Gibbs wanted to get an autopsy and investigation done, just so everything else could go smoothly like Tony getting custody of Tim. As requested, Ducky immediately went to examine Tim while Ziva and Jimmy entered Tony's bedroom.

"Hello there, Timothy," Ducky said to the young child who sat, blinking sleepily at him. "My name is Doctor Mallard, but you can call me Ducky. Can I listen to your heart?" Tim nodded and sat back against the couch as Ducky dug in his medical bag for his stethoscope. "Now, Timothy," Ducky began, "Tony said you have some special medical needs. Can you tell me what those are?" Tim rolled up his sleeve and showed Ducky the medical alert bracelet on his arm. It listed several conditions, which had Ducky clucking in concern.

"Anthony!" Ducky called, "can you come over here?" Tony raced to Ducky's side. "Anthony, Timothy here has some very serious medical conditions that are going to require special care. Okay, Timothy, tell me if I get anything wrong. Timothy is allergic to all nuts, which means you must get rid of anything containing nuts you have in your house. You're going to have to be very careful checking all ingredients in his food. It cannot even contain traces of nuts. He is also allergic to bees. So no going barefoot in the summer. I assume you have an epi-pen, dear boy?" Tim nodded. "Also, it seems that Timothy has severe asthma, which means he is on special medication for that. He must always carry an inhaler on him. Do you get prednisone shots too, Timothy?" Tim nodded once again.

"I'm also 'llergic to latex, seafood, and cats. We just found that out, so it's not on my bracelet." Tim said. Tony looked a little shell-shocked.

"Wow buddy," Tony began, "that's a lot of stuff." Tim looked down.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Hey, hey, kiddo. Nothing to be sorry about. It's not your fault. It just really sucks, especially for you. I'm guessing we'll have to get you a new bracelet, huh?"

Ducky smiled at the father/son exchange. Tony was going to make a great father.

_Next chapter will include (at least) the findings of the autopsy on Alex and the funeral._


	3. Chapter 3

_I know there are grammar/spelling mistakes in this and the previous parts of my story. Sorry, I'm trying to update fast. Any ideas you have for the story, just put it in a review._

It had been a rough couple of days for both Tony and Tim. Tim had not talked unless directly spoken to, and Tony had requested the team to leave them alone for a couple days so they did not overwhelm Tim.

Tim was scared and worried. He knew Tony was his dad, but he did not know if Tony wanted him. He missed his mom too. A lot.

The autopsy report had come back normal, except for (obviously) the cancer that had ravaged Alec's body. The funeral was set for tomorrow.

Tony had brought Tim back to Alex's apartment to grab some clothes and necessities, only to find it completely ransacked; it was not in the nicest area of town. This had greatly upset Tim, so Tony, after grabbing a scruffy teddy bear and a framed picture of Tim and Alex, took Tim to the store. Tony bought everything Tim needed from a new bed and bedspread to some toys and books to clothes. Then they went to pick up Timmy's prescriptions at the doctor's office. Tony wanted to make sure Tim stayed healthy. He had rid the house of anything and everything Tim was allergic to and made sure it was completely void of dust. On Ducky's suggestion, Tony purchased an air purifier for Tim's room.

On the way home, Tony struck up a conversation with the practically mute boy. "Hey Timmy," Tony said, "How you holding up, bud?"

"Okay," Tim said quietly.

"You miss your mom, huh?"

"Yeah," Tim replied, his large green orbs trying to hold back tears. He did not want to seem weak in front of his crime-fighting dad.

"I know this is a lot for you to take in," Tony stated, "first of all, it's okay to cry. One of my best friends, Kate, died a couple years ago. I cried for a long time. I still miss her."

Tim looked intrigued by the admission.

"How do you feel about living with me?" Tony finally questioned.

"I donno," Tim mumbled. He wanted to give Tony the option to back out if he did not want him.

"You know what Tim?" Tony continued. "I'm really excited about you coming to live with me. At first when your mom told me you were my son, I was scared out of my mind. But I've been thinking a lot about you and me. My dad never took care of my like a dad should, but I'm going to be different. I'm going to take care of you, whatever you need. I may have just met you, but you're my son and I love you more than anything."

At this Tim started to cry; his fears were finally quelled. Tony pulled the car over and swept Tim into a tight hug. Tears ran down Tony's cheeks too. After a couple minutes, he heard a small voice. "I- I love you too, Dad."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day it was pouring. It was the perfect atmosphere for a funeral. Tony helped Tim put on a tie. The poor boy was practically distraught when he couldn't get it on himself. He wanted everything to be perfect for his mom.

When they arrived at the funeral home, Tony was surprised to see almost fifty NCIS employees who had come to pay respects. Apparently, the news had spread fast around the workplace. Gibbs, Jimmy, Ziva, Abby, Ducky, and even Director Vance were there. Tony began introducing his son to the friends who had gathered round them. "Tim, this is your Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Ziva, Aunt Abby, Uncle Gibbs, you already know Uncle Ducky, and err…"

"Uncle Leon," Director Vance interrupted when Tony arrived at him. Tony smiled.

"It's nice to meet you all," Tim said politely.

Abby bent down to give him a hug. "It's so nice to meet you, Timmy. I'm really sorry about your mom." Mumurs of agreement went around the group.

"Thanks," said Tim, blushing a fierce red and clutching his father's hand more tightly. Since Tony had talked to Tim just yesterday in the car, the boy had opened up considerably. As the two went to sit down, Tim whispered to Tony, "I like her [Abby]. She's really nice." Tony smiled

"Aah, the first crush already," he thought.

The funeral went by smoothly. Tony said a couple nice words about Alex, for the benefit of the NCIS employees who didn't know her, but still came to the funeral. Then they went home.

Tony requested the week off, in order to get Tim settled. School was the next item on his list, and it worried him.


	4. Chapter 4

The day after the funeral, Tony and Tim watched movies all day. Tony was pleased to discover Timmy liked movies almost as much as he did (of course all the movies had to be age appropriate, but Tony did not mind). Tim was doing well for just losing his mother, and Tony was incredibly happy. He even invited the whole team to his apartment on Thursday so they could get to know Tim a little better. Since, Gibbs' team was down an agent, the team was off the roster, and Vance immediately approved the requested day off.

The next day, Tony approached Tim about school. "Hey Timmy, we got to get you enrolled into the school here. I have to go back to work on Monday. Will you be ready for school then?"

Tim sighed. "Yeah," he said.

"Atta boy." Tony grinned. So Tony took Tim back to his old school to get all the transcripts and information they needed to put him in the public school near Tony's apartment. The principal just handed off all the paperwork without a word, which made Tony mad. "I'm glad we're getting you out of this school. I don't like this neighborhood." Tim just nodded.

The father son duo walked into the new school and sat down to wait for their meeting with the new principal. Tim nervously swung his legs back and forth. Soon they heard a deep voice. "Hello. You must be Mr. Dinozzo and Tim." Tony stood up and shook the principal's hand, motioning Tim to do the same. "I'm Principal Fordeth." The man said kindly.

Tony handed over the pile of papers Tim's old principal gave him. "I don't really know what these are, but Tim's old school said to give them to you." The principal started rifling through the papers.

"Wow, Timothy," he said. "It says here you're only seven, but you are already in the fifth grade."

Tim nodded, "I started early and skipped third grade," he said.

Tony stared at his son. "What? You didn't tell me that, Timmy! That's awesome, buddy." Tim smiled shyly, but the principal looked confused.

"How did you not know?" he questioned. "You are his father, correct?"

"Yes, I am," Tony said, starting to explain the story. When he finished, the principal looked sympathetic.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom, Tim. How are you doing?"

"I'm alright," said Tim. "I miss her, but I already like living with my dad."

Tony smiled at his son. "We're working on getting the custody papers and his last name changed to Dinozzo." Tim nodded eagerly.

Soon enough, all was set. The principal informed Tony that Tim would need to have a physical updated before he could enter the school. Tony promised to have that done right away. Then, Tony and Tim were given a brief tour of the new school and they headed back home. Tony stopped off at the store to buy some ice cream (completely nut free, of course) so the two could celebrate the beginning of both their new lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim was happy his dad seemed to like having him around, but he couldn't stop thinking about his mom. That night, he decided to sneak out. He only wanted to visit his mom's grave and he didn't want his dad to think he was being ungrateful. After all, the graveyard was only about a mile. With Tim's photographic mind, he knew he could find it easily, even in the dark. So, after Tony tucked him in, Tim lay in bed quietly until he heard his dad close the bedroom door. Then, he got dressed, grabbed his teddy bear (appropriately named Scruffles) and tip-toed out the door.

Tony lay in bed for about fifteen minutes. Something was niggling at his gut, but he couldn't figure it out. His newly found "dad instinct" was bothering him too. "Guess I should check on Timmy," Tony thought. "That'll clam me down." But, when Tony cracked the door open to Tim's room, all he saw was a pair of folded, plaid, pajama pants, a ruffled blue bedspread, and a book Tim had been reading. He almost started hyperventilating. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," he thought. "I freakin' lost my son." Then, the light bulb went on. "Gibbs."

Quickly, Tony dialed Gibbs' phone number. Gibbs had told him to call anytime if he needed to talk. He figured this qualified too. "Gibbs," a voice answered.

"Oh God, Boss. I lost my son." A different voice replied.

"What? You lost Tim? Stay there, I'm coming over." Six minutes later, Gibbs was there; a record time considering the "speed limit drive" was at least fifteen minutes.

"Where do you think he went?" Gibbs asked immediately.

"I don't know." Tony was on the verge of hyperventilating again. Gibbs had never seen the man more agitated.

"Did he take anything with him?" Tony went to check the room.

"Only Scruffles. I guess that means he didn't run away." Gibbs looked confused a second at the "Scruffles" reference, but shrugged it off.

"It probably has something to do with his mom." Gibbs said.

"Oh…" Tony replied, another light bulb going on. "The graveyard, of course." Gibbs slapped him lightly on the head. "Hey, Boss! What was that for?" Tony questioned.

"Panicking." Gibbs answered simply. "Let's go."

Gibbs drove slowly, his usual maniac ways put aside for the sake of finding the little boy in the dark. Tony rolled down his window, despite the cold breeze. "Tim!" he called. "Timothy! Timmy!"

"Dad?" A small voice questioned. Gibbs slammed on the brakes and Tony leapt out of the car, engulfing Timmy in a warm embrace. The boy was shaking from the cold. He was scared too. He may have known the way, but Tim had never liked the dark. And this dark was awfully scary.

"Oh God. Timothy Avery Dinozzo. Don't you ever scare me like that again. What the hell were you thinking?" Tony exclaimed in a rush of breath. Tim started to cry.

"I'm sorry, dad." He whimpered. "I just, I just miss her." He sniffled, burying his head into the crook of his father's neck.

Tony sighed. "Oh Timmy, I know. I would have taken you. And I will. Anytime. Just don't go on your own. You scared me so much. I almost had a freakin' heart attack!" Tim giggled a little at this. Gibbs also gave a small smile from the car. "Come on kiddo. Let's go. But, hey. You EVER try ANYTHING like this again, you will be in major trouble. You hear me?" Tim nodded as Tony picked him up and carried him to the car.

When the trio entered the house, Tony went to make Gibbs some coffee and Timmy some hot chocolate. Gibbs took that moment to give Tim a talking to. "Hey Tim?" he said.

"Y-yes?" Tim was still very unsure of his place around the team, especially Gibbs, the boss. Gibbs lightly slapped the back of the boy's head.

"You didn't just scare your dad there, bud. If you try that again, I will make sure Tony punishes you. I pretty good at thinking up effective punishments. You know, you're part of our team family now. And I'm kinda like the dad of the team. That kinda makes me like your grandpa."

Timmy's eyes got really big at this. "My grandpa?" he asked.

"Mmhmm."

"I never had anyone else besides my mom in my family before." Tim hesitated.

"What's up kiddo?" Gibbs inquired, noticing the pause.

"Can I call you grandpa?" Tim asked in a rush. Gibbs looked surprised at this. His usually frigid exterior melted at the timid boy's question, and he smiled.

"Of course, grandson."

From the kitchen, Tony grinned from ear to ear. "Just wait until the team hears about Gibbs' little view on the team dynamics," he thought.

"Tony!" Gibbs called, beckoning the man close. Then he slapped his head. Hard. "Don't even think about it." He said, gruffly.

That night, Tony and Tim both slept in Tony's bed. Tony's arm lay protectively across his son the entire time. Gibbs crashed on the couch, wanting to make sure the pair did not get into anymore trouble that night. "Man," he thought. "Those two are going to be a pair to behold."


	5. Chapter 5

_I realize I've been making a lot of grammar mistakes, but I'm trying to update fairly quickly. I figured most people care more about the story than the grammatical format whateverness. Haha. I hope you like it so far. More to follow soon._

It was finally Thursday. The team would be coming over to finally get acquainted with Timmy. Everyone was going to bring food, and Ducky updated everyone on how to make sure no food would give Tim a reaction. "Timothy must not have any nuts or seafood. Absolutely no traces can be found." Ducky explained. And then of course he went on to tell a story about, "a dear lad who had such terrible food allergies…"

Timmy was excited, but nervous. Gibbs (grandpa now), Tim smiled at the recollection, had told him he was a part of the team. But, he wasn't so sure. He was little. His dad hadn't even known he existed a little over a week ago and now here he was. "Timmy!" he heard his dad call, "C'mere. I need your help."

Tony was also a little nervous. He knew the team already loved Tim as one of their own, but it was a whole new experience being a dad. Tony shrugged, ever the optimist. It would all turn out one way or another. They were a family. Him, Tim, Gibbs, Ziva, Abby, Ducky, Jimmy… ooh… Jimmy, Tony wondered what Jimbo thought of this all. Of course, Jimmy would always be his best friend and accept him no matter what, but things would be different. He had a kid to be responsible for now. Gosh, and thinking of that responsibility, Tony began wondering how life at NCIS was going to work having a kid. He wouldn't give Timmy up for the world, but NCIS had been his life for almost a decade. He loved it there, and he loved his family there. He knew Gibbs didn't mind Tim being at NCIS, and if they had a case, Abby had already expressed excitement at the prospect of Tim "chilling" with her in the lab. Tony laughed. "Wow," he thought. "Since when do I worry this much?"

Finally, the doorbell rang. It was almost an hour early, but Tony and Tim were ready, because Tony figured Jimmy would show up early. Of course, Tony was right. "JIMBO!" Tony exclaimed, wrapping his friend in a manly hug.

"Hey, Tony, hey Timmy." Jimmy said smiling.

"Hello, Uncle Jimmy," Tim said solemnly.

"Why so serious, little man?" Tony questioned, "We're having a party!" At this Tim smiled. "That's it," said Tony, affectionately ruffling his hair.

"I'm going to grab a couple beers and a juice. Timmy, Jimbo, you guys can go chill in the livingroom. Get to know one another. Hang."

Both Tim and Jimmy laughed. Wow, Tony was excited. Although Timmy was still a little apprehensive, he followed his new uncle into the livingroom.

"Hey, Timmy," Jimmy said. "Gosh, I'm so excited to get to know you. Tell me something about yourself."

Timmy blushed. He wasn't used to getting so much attention, and right now only one person was there! "I donno," he mumbled, looking down as his shy personality took over.

Jimmy grinned, "okay dokey. I'll start then. My name is Jimmy Palmer… obviously. I'm 23. Your dad and I have been best friends for almost three years, even though he's thirteen years older than me. I always thought we were a lot different. Turns out we aren't really. We both love sports… I know. I don't look like the jock your dad does. Believe me when I say, I'm definitely not a jock. More a nerd. I mainly watch sports. I like to play them too though. I like video games also… Tony calls me autopsy gremlin. Did you know that?"

Timmy started giggling, young high-pitched, little boy giggles. It was just too much to watch, so Jimmy joined in. That's how Tony found them several minutes later. Both were sprawled out on the couch, giggling like their lives depended on it. "Haha," Tony thought. "One worry down."

Upon seeing Tony smiling down at them, the two boys began settle down, both gasping for breath. Tony just kept smiling and went back in the kitchen, "Okay," Jimmy said nodding, "your turn."

"Okay," Timmy replied, now completely at ease with the older man, "My name is Timothy Dinozzo… well it will be soon. I'll be eight in three weeks. I'm in fifth grade." At this Jimmy started gaping like Tony did when he found out.

"Wait," Jimmy interrupted. "You're not even eight and you're already in fifth grade?" Timmy nodded and explained the same thing he had to the principal and his dad previously. "Wow, smart kid!" Jimmy exclaimed. "What's your favorite subject?"

"Computer science." Timmy answered without hesitation. "I like regular science and math too. And English. And social. Well, I like everything… except gym and lunch."

"Aah," Jimmy nodded in understanding. "I was the same way."

"I'm hoping it will be different at my new school," confessed Timmy, "but I'm much younger than the kids in my grade. They tend not to like that. And I have to eat in a special room, 'cause I can't be in a room that has peanuts in it. Kids my age like peanut butter and jelly."

Jimmy was about to request more information on what Timmy liked when the door was rapidly knocked on. "I'll betcha that's Ziva," said Jimmy. Tim smiled, his timid persona back again. Jimmy was right, but along with Ziva entered Ducky and Abby. Abby quickly bounded over to Timmy and gave him an excited hug and squeal.

"Timmy! Hi! I brought games for us to play. Do you like monopoly or yahtzee? How about…" Abby rambling was interrupted by the knock bring in Gibbs and an unexpected guest.

"Fornell?" Tony asked.

"Agent Dinotzo. I heard you have a kid."

"Timmy, this is Uncle Toby," Gibbs introduced, smirking at Fornell's surprised look.

"Hello," Timmy greeted.

"Okay!" Tony also grinned at the look on Fornell's face, which was now more pleased than surprised. "Let's get this party started!"

Beers went around. People munched on chips and salsa and chewed the steak Tony grilled. Everybody was surprised Tony could cook at all. The party went extremely well, and by the end of the night, Timmy was no longer shy around the adults who he now considered family. Same went for the adults, who all looked upon Tim with a love and fondness usually reserved for one's own children. "Oh, boy," thought Tony. "This is going to be one spoiled kid." And with that thought he grinned and went to grab everybody more beer (except Tim of course).


	6. Chapter 6

_Not a doctor. Have some experience with this sort of stuff. Thankfully, not nearly as severe as I made Timmy. I just wanted to torture him, because I'm mean. I'm sorry if any of this is wrong. Also, I got a question concerning where McGee is... McGee is the kid. I tried to make him smart like McGee, "look like" McGee, etc... I'm open to any suggestions. Also, thank you everyone for your reviews! You guys make my day! =)_

The next day was a chilly March Friday, and Tony had the necessary doctor appointment planned with… Ducky, of course. So at 1:00, after sleeping in late (recovering from the party), Tony brought Tim to work with him. First the father/son pair stopped at the bullpen, where Tim greeted Gibbs and Ziva excitedly. "Hi Grandpa! Hi Aunt Ziva! Daddy is going to show me his work!" Both Gibbs and Ziva smiled indulgingly at the enthusiastic boy. Tony brought him around and even introduced him to some friends of his. Everyone loved the polite, intelligent boy and in less than an hour, he was very popular among the employees.

Director Vance even called the duo up to say hello. "Hello, Uncle Leon," Tim said. "I like your office." Vance smiled at how different the boy seemed in just a couple days. He was smiling and not nearly as timid as before. Tim had bounced back extremely well from the tragedy that had befallen him not long ago.

"Thanks, Timmy, you're welcome here anytime." Vance said. Tony smiled. He had been suspicious of the director's loyalties towards his employees ever since the team split-up, but the director was quickly proving to be someone he could trust.

"Okay, Timmy. After we go say hi to Aunt Abby, we have to go get your check-up with Uncle Ducky and Uncle Jimmy."

Tim grimaced, but he was still too happy for that to "rain on his parade." Fifteen minutes later, he was down in autopsy sitting on one of the cold, hard tables. "Hello Timothy," welcomed Ducky, always the formal one.

"Hey Timmy, how's it going?" asked Jimmy.

"Hi, Uncle Ducky, it's going fine Uncle Jimmy," Tim replied.

"Okay dear boy, let us get started." Ducky set his medical bag on a different table near him and pulled out his stethoscope. "It looks like you are up to date on all your immunizations. But it does not seem that you got your flu shot this year. Considering your medical health, I do want to give you one today." Timmy grimaced. "I know Timothy. Shots are not the most pleasant experience, albeit a necessary one."

"Let's get this shirt off, Timmy," Jimmy said. "I know it's cold down here, but this won't take too long." Tim nodded and Ducky listened to his heart.

"Deep breaths, Timothy." Tim breathed in and out. "Aah, Timothy, you sound a tad wheezy. Have you been using you corticosteroid inhaler once a day?" Tim nodded, and Tony corroborated with his own nod.

"Alright then. Can you say aah?" Ducky looked into Tim's mouth, eyes, and ears. "Did you order him a new bracelet yet, Anthony?" Ducky questioned.

"Yup," Tony said as Tim held out his hand so Ducky could see his new bracelet.

"Excellent." Ducky finished up his examination fairly quickly. "Anthony?" Ducky asked. "May I converse with you over here?"

Jimmy started up a conversation with Timmy, and Tony walked to the other side of the room to talk with Ducky. "Anthony, I think Timothy may be coming down with a little cold. Considering his history of asthma, I want to start him on a round of antibiotics so as to keep it from turning into pneumonia. I want him to use his corticosteroid inhaler twice a day, too. Also, I want to give him a prednisone shot and take some blood. We will have to hold off on the flu shot until we get his immune system back to normal." Tony looked a little overwhelmed. "I know it's a lot to take in, Anthony, but it is very important to keep Timothy healthy. He should be fine to go to school on Monday, but I want to give him a prednisone shot every other day this week. I also want to get him in for seasonal allergy testing, before the spring pollens are actually upon us. It seems as though he has never had that done, and when a child has such severe allergies to food and bees, often they will also have nasty seasonal allergies. If so, I would advise you to start him on weekly allergy shots. I can order them and we can do them here."

"Gosh, Duck." Tony said. "The poor kid. I had no idea."

"Oh, Anthony, I wish I could tell you it won't be any worse than this." At this prospect Tony looked positively terrified. "Anaphylactic shock is a very scary thing as is any severe asthma attack. We can take the best possible care of him, but short of sticking him in a bubble for the rest of his life; it is almost inevitable at some point. He is also very small for his age. You need to feed him more often. Small, protein filled meals often are best. We will talk about all this more in depth later. Well, let us get this over with."

Tony hopped up on the table next to his son and gently kissed his head. Timmy sniffled. No matter how many times he got shots, it never seemed to get any easier.

"You're a very brave boy, Timothy," Ducky said as he tied a tourniquet around his arm. Tim turned his head into his father's shoulder and whimpered as Ducky stuck the needle in. "Aah, darn," said Ducky. "The veins are too small in his arm."

At this Jimmy grimaced too. "The leg?" he asked.

"We will have to Mr. Palmer."

"Hey bud, when we're done with this, we'll have pizza. Kay?" Tony said, realizing this was probably going to hurt his son.

Jimmy helped lay Timmy flat on the table. Ducky tied the tourniquet around Tim's leg and probed the vein a little with his finger. He didn't want to have to poke Tim more than once.

Tony held one of Tim's hands and Jimmy held the other. Tim turned his head so he didn't have to watch.

Ducky slid the needle in and Timmy immediately began to cry. "Almost done, lad." Ducky said, sympathetically as he held the needle in place. Grabbing a big band-aid, Ducky pulled the needle out. Tim was sobbing at this point. Having a needle stuck in your leg hurt.

Tony started rubbing soothing circles on Tim's back as he sat up. "Good job, buddy." Tony said; Ducky handed the vials of blood off to Jimmy who would take them to Abby. "One more kiddo, then we can blow this pop stand!" Tim sniffled unhappily. "This one won't be so bad."

Ducky expertly stuck the needle in Tim's left arm. Tim flinched, but to his credit, did not make a sound this time. Tony smiled, "I think you're braver than me, Timmy." Tim rubbed his eyes.

"I know for a fact he is braver than you, Anthony," Ducky replied. Tim smiled a little at this, and Ducky handed him a sucker. "Timothy, I need to see you back here on Monday after school for some more tests and another prednisone shot. No more blood tests for a bit, I promise." Tim looked unhappy, but he didn't whine. Tony slipped Tim's shirt back on and picked the boy up. Tim clung to his father. Ducky was right, he was absolutely too small for his age. Well, it was time to fix that. Tony wondered how the other kids in his class would feel about having a kid who was so much younger, and looked even younger than he was, in their class. He wouldn't have to wonder for long.

_Next up: Timmy's first day at school._


	7. Chapter 7

_Again, I don't know anything about getting custody of kids, changing last names, etc… Just making up as I go along._

The weekend passed by quickly, and Monday arrived. Gibbs told Tony not to come into work until later in the morning so he could get Tim settled into school. So, Tony was cooking breakfast for the two of them, while Tim showered and got dressed. When the boy in question entered, Tony whistled and took a couple pictures with the camera he had bought recently. "Looking snazzy there, young Mr. Dinozzo." He said, grinning. They had just found out the request to change Tim's name was finally approved. Tim was wearing jeans and a long sleeve green shirt that matched his eyes. Abby had given it to him; she had taken him shopping on the weekend.

Timmy allowed a small smile, but he was quite obviously nervous. "Hey babe," Tony said, "everything is going to be okay. If it's not, you have the cell phone I gave you. Sneak into a bathroom and call me. Kay?" At this Tim giggled. He wasn't one to break the rules, no matter how small. Tony smiled too, he knew this about Tim. It was one of the things he loved about his son. Actually, he loved absolutely everything about his son. Gosh, his life had changed so much in fewer than two weeks. And, Tony loved it. He still could not get over his love for being a dad.

The boys finished up breakfast. "Go brush your teeth, Timmy. I want to be early for school, so we can talk to your principal one more time." Tim rushed off. When he came back, Tony began interrogating, "Did you take your meds?"

"Yes."

"Do you have your epi-pen?"

"Yes."

"Your inhaler?"

"Yes, daaad."

"Your lunch, your schedule, your books, your pencils?"

"Daaaad!"

"Do you have yoouuuurrr brain!" Tony teased. Tim rolled his eyes.

"Can we go now, dad?"

"Sure, bud, let's go." Tony said. They walked down the driveway and into the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

Tony had finally arrived at work. He was presently pacing back and forth, much to the delight of Ziva who was taking every opportunity to tease him. He effectively ignored her, much to her annoyance, until Gibbs said, "Grab your gear. We've got a dead body at Norfolk."

Tony jumped at the chance to get back to work. All he could think about was Tim. Was he okay? Was he making friends? He needed something to distract his mind. The slap came out of nowhere, "Geez Dinozzo! Are you with us here?" Gibbs growled.

"Sorry, Boss. I'm just worried about Tim. He really didn't want to go to school today. He's so small. I think he still misses his mom a lot too, even if he hasn't been showing it."

Gibbs shook his head. "Tony, you've been doing a great job with Tim, but you can't keep him home forever. He needs to learn. And we need you here."

"Alright, Boss. You're right. Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Timmy was getting introduced to his new class. "Class, this is Tim. He's a new student here. I would like you to make him feel welcome. Tim, you can sit over there."

Whispers filled the classroom; Timmy shuffled to his seat blushing fiercely. The teacher began with mathematics. Tim was already bored out of his mind; he knew all this stuff backwards and forwards. Tim found his mind wandering as he looked outside. He did miss his mom, but he thought his dad was the greatest. He liked living in a nicer neighborhood where he didn't have to worry about "the bad people" around. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice. "Timothy Dinozzo! We are doing math. Will you come up here and do this problem on the board for me?" Tim turned bright red as he glanced at the board. It was a simple multiplication problem. 17X7… he could do that in his head any day.

"119," he said quietly. His teacher looked positively shocked. Most adults couldn't do that in their heads, much less a fifth grader.

"Very, wow… very good, Tim," his teacher said. Whispers filled the room again, along with a few snickers. Tim wanted to sink into the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally it was time to pick up Tim. Tony rushed out the door quickly calling out, "Be back in a few, Boss!" Both Ziva and Gibbs smiled. All Tony had talked about all day was Tim. He only made one movie reference!

A couple minutes later, Ducky, Jimmy, and Abby came up the elevator. They all wanted to know how Timmy's first day went.

Tony pulled up to the school; Tim was sitting on a bench by himself looking pretty upset. All the other kids were running around, playing with each other. Tony sighed. "Timmy," he called out the window. Tim looked up at hearing his name; seeing his dad, he ran to the car. "Hey bud, how'd it…"

"I don't like it here, daddy," Tim whispered sadly. "The kids don't like me already."

"I'm sorry, kiddo. I'm sure it will get better eventually." Tony said. Tim shook his head.

The elevators dinged and out stepped Tim and Tony. The team was about to start regaling him with questions, when they saw the dejected look on Tim's face. Instead, Abby walked over and gave him a gentle hug. "I'm sorry, Timmy," she said. "That bad, huh?"

Timmy returned the hug, glad for the physical comfort. "I don't like it there, Aunt Abby," he said. "The teacher asked me to come up to the board to do a math problem. 17X7. I said 119. She was so surprised, but all the kids laughed. It's just like my old school." Abby took his hand.

"Well," she said. "I have something that might cheer you up a bit. Can I take him, Tony?"

"Sure," Tony replied, "but we have to go see Ducky soon."

"It's okay, Anthony. We can do that later today. Why don't you guys come down around 5:00?" Ducky said.

"When you're done down there, we're going to order some Chinese food," said Gibbs. "I found a place that guarantees nut free food."

So Tim and Abby went downstairs, and the rest of the team went back to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In "Abby's labby," as Tim dubbed it, Tim was actually beginning to enjoy himself. Abby was teaching him about all her machines, and she had a bunch of computers. Tim loved computers. Of course, Abby had her music blasting, and at the moment she was dancing around the lab sipping Cafpow. Tim was watching in utter amazement. He had never met a grown woman like Abby. She was amazing.

At 4:50, Tony came down the elevator. Abby was running evidence and the music was uncannily low, because Timmy was sleeping on the futon. School had wiped him out. Tony smiled lovingly down at the boy. "How long has he been sleeping, Abs?" he asked.

"A little over an hour," she said.

"I have to take him to see Ducky now," Tony said, bending down and shaking his son awake. "We're doing testing for seasonal allergies." Timmy sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Let's go, kiddo. We don't want to keep the Duckman waiting."

Timmy stood up and grabbed his father's hand. "I don't wanna go," he mumbled.

Tony bent down, "I know, Timmy, but we have to. I don't want you getting really sick, and Ducky wants to check you about seasonal allergies."

A couple minutes later, Timmy was back sitting on the autopsy table. Ducky had made sure all evidence of the dead marine was gone. He didn't want to traumatize Timmy. "Hello there, Timothy." Said Ducky. Jimmy was readying the allergy testing materials.

The skin tests didn't take long. Tim was just glad it didn't hurt. Raised bumps indicated that yes, indeed, Timmy had seasonal allergies. Ducky began listing off the results. "Grass, trees, dust, cats, ragweed, and feathers. Well, that is not surprising, young Timothy. None of these will cause anaphylactic shock, but they can cause allergic asthma attacks. We will start you on allergy shots later this week. After I give you your prednisone, I would like you to stay here for at least 20 minutes so I can make sure you do not have any reactions."

Tim nodded and sighed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Half an hour later, Tim was sitting at the empty desk near Tony, finishing his homework. The team was working on the case. Tim started coughing. "You okay, Timmy?" Tony asked distractedly, as he ran a name through the search engines.

"Daddy," Timmy coughed again, "Dad- dad?"

Tony looked at his son in concern. Then, all of the sudden, Tim collapsed.


	8. Chapter 8

_Not a doctor, don't own NCIS… just like to use the characters… yada, yada, yada. This is a really short chapter..._

Tony ran over to his son shouting his name. "Timmy! Timmy!" Gibbs ran downstairs to get Ducky, as Ziva joined Tony. "Hey Timmy, just breathe for me, okay buddy?" Tim's breath was coming on in short wheezy gasps. Tony didn't know if he should use the epi-pen, or if Tim just needed his inhaler. Luckily, Jimmy chose that point to enter, an oxygen tank in hand. Quickly, he sat Timmy upright, turned the tank on 100%, and placed the hissing mask over his "nephew's" face.

"Hey, Timmy, look at me," Jimmy said. "I need you to match my breaths. Ready? In… out. In… out. That's good, nice and steady." Ducky entered at that point.

"It is not anaphylactic shock. Likely it is an asthma attack, exacerbated by the allergy testing." Ducky explained as he bent down and placed the stethoscope against Timmy's chest. Timmy breathing had calmed down a little, and he was now trying to take the mask off his face.

"Uh uh uh." Tony rebuked mildly, pushing the mask in place and stretching the elastic band over Timmy's head.

"Yes, keep that on dear boy," Ducky said. "I do not think we need to bring him to the hospital, but I want him to wear that mask for a while. Did he use his inhaler yet?"

"No," Tony said.

"Okay, Timothy," Ducky took the mask off, and Ziva handed Timmy his inhaler, which she had shook and placed in the spacer. Timmy took the instructed two puffs, and Ducky placed the oxygen mask back on his patient.

At this point, half of the NCIS employees were worriedly watching the boy struggle to breathe. Gradually, Timmy began breathing normally again, and the staff cheered. "Mr. Palmer? Will you stay up here and keep an eye on Timothy as I finish up the autopsy on our poor Lieutenant Hamer?"

"Of course, Doctor Mallard."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Timmy was back to normal within an hour and was again smiling and doing his homework. Jimmy had gone back downstairs, and Tony kept sending worried glances over at his son.

The team was again reviewing the case. Apparently, their dead Lieutenant was very into drugs. "Man," Tony said, looking at the plasma where a list of known drugs users who were possibly connected to the murder was up. "This guy was in some nasty…" he looked at his son again… "s-h-i-t."

Timmy looked at his dad and smirked a little. "I can spell, dad." He exclaimed.

Ziva laughed. "You tell him, Tim."

By 7:30, the case was wrapped up, Chinese food was eaten, and Gibbs dismissed his team instructing Tim to "take it easy, little man." Tony was extremely glad. He wanted to get Tim home and in bed. The boy was fading fast, tired after his first day at the new school. Tony wanted him awake and alert for his second day. When they got home, Tony left Tim on the couch with a Disney movie playing and went to check his e-mails. When he went back in the livingroom, he smiled. His son was fast asleep on the couch. Tony grabbed a blanket and draped it over him, kissing his head. "I love you, Timmy."

_Next up: Timmy's birthday_


	9. Chapter 9

_Another really short chapter. I have some ideas in my head, but I want to do a chronological order kinda thing and well… you'll see. At least I'm updating quickly, yah?_

It was Saturday, March 28th, a couple weeks after the allergy testing incident. It was Timothy Dinozzo's eighth birthday. To say he was a bit excited would be an understatement. There was going to be a family party, they were having his favorite food, and the next day his dad and him were going to have a "boy's day out." Timmy jumped out of bed. He figured he had let his dad sleep in long enough. Running through the house, Timmy barged into his dad's room and started jumping on the bed. "Wake up, daddy!" He exclaimed happily.

"Mmmf," Tony rolled over and looked bleary-eyed at his son and then at the clock. "Happy birthday, Timmy. How about you go watch cartoons and let daddy sleep a little longer?" Timmy bounced off the bed.

"Okay daddy!" He raced into the living-room and turned on the TV. There is nothing like a little Saturday morning cartoons on your birthday. That's where Tony found him, curled on the couch, clutching Scruffles and sucking on his thumb, an hour later.

"Aah, Timmy," Tony said, "stop sucking your thumb. You're eight now." Timmy only sucked his thumb when watching TV, and although Tony thought it was adorable, he knew it was a bad habit.

Tony felt badly. Timmy had been having a hard time at school. When Tony would ask how it went, the generic "fine" was the only answer he got. A love of learning (which Timmy definitely had), did not necessarily mean a love of school. Tony had wanted to have a party with the kid's from school, but Timmy didn't have any friends (yet), and Tony knew Timmy wouldn't want it. Although, Tony suspected Timmy was being bullied, Tim wouldn't tell him if that was so or not. Without any evidence, Tony couldn't do anything about it. Instead, he invited the team from NCIS, "Uncle Toby" and his family, and "Uncle Leon" and his family.

As the days went by, Tim was beginning to love his surrogate family more and more. Aunt Abby and Aunt Ziva had taken him to a movie last week, and he had a great time. Grandpa Gibbs had let him help sand his boat in the basement. Uncle Jimmy was Tim's favorite person to hang out with (besides his dad), because they could do anything together and have fun. Tony and the whole team had grown closer thanks to Tim. They trusted each other even more in the field and their friendships ("family relationships") were practically seamless. Tim was a bundle of joy and a complete blessing to everyone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple hours later, everyone was at Tony's house. Emily Fornell, Kayla Vance, and Jared Vance were also there. Although none of them were the same age as Timmy, (Emily was 11, Jared 12, and Kayla 6)* Tony was glad there were at least some kids there and that they all got along. They all went to the same school as Timmy, but none of them ever saw each other since they weren't in the same grades.

Even though Timmy still was not crazy about having all the attention focused on him, Timmy was having a great time as the party progressed. Eventually, Jared asked Tim if he wanted to go play catch. The Vance family had bought both Timmy and Tony mitts and baseball stuff, and Jared loved baseball. "Uuh, sure," Timmy replied.

Jared knew Tim didn't have any experience with sports, but he didn't mind teaching the kid how to play. So, Jared and Tim tossed the ball around for a while. Jared was really good at baseball, and although Timmy was essentially terrible, Jared was very patient.

Later that night, Tim was telling his dad all about playing baseball with Jared. "He's my friend, dad. I have a friend." Timmy was overjoyed.

_* Don't actually have any idea how old the Vance kids and Emily are. I don't even remember if Jared and Kayla are their real names…_


	10. Chapter 10

_Not a doctor… yet._

It was the Tuesday after the party. Tim was at school and Tony at work. Things had settled down a bit in both the boys' lives, but Tony daddy sense was tingling. Something didn't feel right. The team was working on cold cases, "working" being the operative word. Tony was bugging Ziva, Ziva was threatening to kill Tony with a paper clip, and Gibbs was in MTAC. It was 3:00, Timmy was going to walk home from school today (the school was only ¼ a mile) so he could grab some of the stuff he wanted before coming to NCIS. Tony was going to pick him up at 3:45.

Timmy smiled. It was a beautiful spring day for a walk. He hoisted his backpack on and started to walk when he heard a couple voices, "ooh Tiny Tiiimm." Tim ignored them and began to walk faster. "Oh look, Tiny Timmy is afraid of his classmates. The poor baby." Tim was scared. Michael, Jon, and Kolby were trotting up to him. They had been bullying him since he started coming to the school a little over a month earlier. "Wait up, Timmy!" one said, smirking. "We have some snacks we want to share with you." And with that, the three boys grabbed Tim pushed him to the ground and stuck a peanut-butter sandwhich in his mouth.

Tim immediately began to panic and tried to reach for his backpack. He knew he needed his epi-pen right away. But, the boys yanked it just out of reach. Tim ripped the sandwich out of his mouth and threw as far away from himself as he could, but it was too late. Tim started wheezing, his lips turned a faint blue, "Need epi-pen," he gasped. One of the boys just laughed. The other two looked a little nervous.

"Come one Kolby, let's get outta here." So the three ran off, leaving Tim gasping for air on the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Jared Vance just got out of school. He had stayed after to discuss a project with one of his teachers. "Wow, what a beautiful day," he thought. He walked over to a bench to call his dad to pick him up when he spotted a familiar backpack. "Timmy? You here?" he called. Jared had become quite fond of the little boy and looked at him as the little brother he always wanted. Then he saw him lying on the ground. "Tim!" Jared bent over Tim. The boy's lips were completely blue; he wasn't breathing.

Immediately, Jared called 911. "I need an ambulance at G. Washington Elementary and Middle School." He said hurriedly. "There is an eight-year-old boy having an allergic reaction to peanuts. He's not breathing." Almost instantaneously, Jared heard sirens piercing the air. The paramedics pulled up to the curb and jumped out, both ran over to Tim.

One quickly injected an epi-pen into Tim's thigh. The other began CPR. Jared looked on in utter horror. A third paramedic came out of the driver's seat and began sticking a tube down Tim's throat. "I can't get it," he cried. "The throat's too swollen."

"Give it to me." Another paramedic exclaimed. She got the tube down Tim's throat fairly rapidly and the other man started to pump a balloon shaped thing he attached at the end of it. "We need the defibrillator stat!" the women exclaimed. "There's no heart beat."

One of the paramedics hopped into the open ambulance, bringing out the defibrillator. "Charging 150, clear." Tim's body jumped from the electric shock.

"He's back," said a medic feeling the pulse on his neck.

The driver started an IV in Tim's arm, while the women began attaching electrodes to his chest. The man continued pumping the balloon.

A small crowd had formed when they heard the sirens. It consisted of three teachers, two of whom knew Tim. "Look!" one exclaimed. "A peanut-butter sandwich. Isn't he allergic to peanuts? It seems as though he was eating it…"

"He knows better," another said. "He even eats in a special room so he can't smell the peanut-butter in the cafeteria."

"We can check the cameras," the third, who didn't know Tim suggested. "Then we can see what happened."

"Yeah, maybe he got stung. He's allergic to bees too," said the second teacher, as the three of them started walking towards the school. "We'll find out what happened." The first one said to the paramedics who now had Tim in the ambulance, on a stretcher, ready to be whisked away. Jared was in the ambulance too. He was calling Tony.

"Dinozzo!" a voice answered.

"Agent Dinozzo?"

"Jared! How many times have I told you to call me Tony." Tony said jovially.

"Tony," Jared exclaimed, "Tim had an allergic reaction. We're in the ambulance right now, on the way to the hospital. They were going to take him to Memorial, but I told them to take him to Bethesda."

"What!" Tony cried, practically hyperventilating.

One of the paramedics took the phone from Tony. "Sir, my name is Daniel Megann. I'm an EMT taking care of your son. He's had a severe allergic reaction to what seems to be peanuts."

"You're taking him to Bethesda?" Tony questioned. He could hear the siren wailing in the backround

"Yes, sir. We'll be there shortly."

Tony hung up and started talking rapidly.

"Boss! Tim had a reaction. He's on his way to Bethesda. Oh my God, Boss. It sounds really bad."

Gibbs took immediate control of the situation. "Ziva, call everyone. Tony, with me. You're in no state to drive. C'mon."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ambulance arrived only a couple minutes later. Doctors rushed out to assist the medics, one of whom was on top of the gurney giving Tim CPR again. The other man was running alongside the gurney, still pumping the balloon giving Tim the needed oxygen. "Get him inside now! He needs to be shocked again."

Jared looked on helplessly until the woman paramedic took pity on him. "Hey, c'mon kid. I'll take you to the waiting room. Is that your friend?"

Jared nodded. "He's my cousin, but I think of him more like my little brother."

The woman led Jared to the waiting room, where he called his dad.

"Hey son," Vance answered.

"Dad. Timmy's really sick."

"I know, son. I'll be there soon. Just sit tight for me, okay?"

"I'm worried about him, dad."

"Me too, Jared. Me too." Vance admitted. "I'll be there in five."

"Okay dad. See you soon."

"See you soon, Jared." Jared sat on the waiting room chair, fidgeting restlessly. When the waiting room doors opened, he jumped to his feet.

"Tony!"

"Oh, good. Jared. My, God. Tell me what happened."

"I don't really know…" Jared stated. "I met with a teacher of mine, and then I was going to call my dad to pick me up. I saw Tim's backpack on the ground, but I didn't see him. I called his name and looked around. He was on the ground, so I called an ambulance."

A doctor chose that moment to walk in. "You probably saved his life with that quick thinking too. Another minute and we probably wouldn't have been able to bring him back."

"Brad?" Tony questioned.

"Hey, Tony. I saw Tim's last name was Dinozzo. I was wondering if he was related to you."

"He's my son," Tony said quietly. "Is he okay? Can I see him?"

"Tony, we got your son stabilized, but he crashed twice already. We have him on a ventilator because he cannot breathe on his own. Right now, we also have him in a medicated coma. He is in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Anything like this is very traumatizing to the body of someone as young and as small as Tim. We will likely start bringing him out of the coma in two or three days…" Doctor Brad Pitt paused at this point. Tony had turned positively pale at the enormity of what happened to his son.

Gibbs, who had been standing silently until that point, pushed Tony down in a chair. "Hey, Tony, he's going to be fine; Tim may be small, but he's a fighter."

The rest of the team, including Vance, entered the waiting room while Gibbs was talking. Jared rushed over to his dad; he was scared for Timmy. He didn't want to lose the boy who was like a little brother to him. At the same time, a black whirlwind rushed over to Tony and embraced him in a tight hug.

"Abs, can't breathe!" Tony coughed.

"Ooh, sorry. How's Timmy? Oh my God, I was so worried."

Tony just shook his head and looked at Brad.

"Hello again, Doctor Pitt," Ducky said, always one to stay calm. "Can you tell us how young Timothy is doing?"

Brad explained again how Tim was doing, and everyone looked shocked. "Can I see him?" Tony asked again.

Brad nodded. "Two at a time. I'd say only family, but I know that wouldn't stop you guys." Brad thought back to when Tony had the plague. The whole team had visited him frequently, despite the "family only" rule the hospital had insisted upon.

"We are all family." Ziva said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Tony and Gibbs walked off to see Timmy. Unfortunately, nothing, not even being a crime investigator, could prepare Tony for seeing his only son so sick.

_Yay! Dr. Pitt. I love him! Up next: Tony sees Timmy. The team finds out why Timmy had the allergic reaction in the first place. Uh oh for those three bullies. _


	11. Chapter 11

_Dear, readers. Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts! They literally make my day. I am soooo sorry it's taken me so long to update .I've been super busy, then I was sick, then I had a nice case of writer's block. Anyways, I'll try to update more quickly. _**BTW MCGEE IS TONY'S SON. TIMMY= TIMOTHY MCGEE**_. I've had a bunch of questions wondering where McGee is… Tim is supposed to kind of have adult McGee's personality. If there is something I can do to make it more obvious, tell me. Also, any suggestions for the story are welcomed._

Brad led Tony and Gibbs into the elevator. Tony just stared straight ahead. He was so worried about his Timmy. Gibbs also looked solemn, although that wasn't new for him. Brad studied Tony worriedly. The man was extremely pale and looked as if he would fall over, but Brad figured if he had a son as sick as little Timothy Dinozzo, he would be extremely scared too.

"Just over a month ago I found out about him, Brad. That's why I haven't told you yet." Tony said. Brad nodded. The two of them would go out for beers every couple of months to keep in touch, ever since Tony's episode with the plague. And, Tony always had a yearly lung check-up with Brad.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. The rush of the PICU didn't faze Tony as he headed toward room 406, Timmy's room, which was right by the nurse's station and reserved for the direst of cases. "Tony," Brad interrupted Tony's walk, "he looks really bad right now, but he's young, and he will bounce back from this. It's just going to take a while."

"Like my leg?" Tony joked feebly. Brad had broken Tony's leg in a college football game a while ago. Brad and Gibbs smiled at the glimpse of the normal tenacious Tony. Both Tony and Tim would get through this fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, the teachers were looking at the school's recordings in horror. One of the teachers had called in the principal who was also now staring at the tape in disbelief. They all saw the three bullies run up to Tim, who attempted to ward them off. They had pushed him down, fed him the known peanut butter allergen, and run off when he started gasping for breath and pointing to his backpack (where his epi-pen was located).

"We need to call the father. He works for NCIS. He will want to handle this." The principal shook his head in a trance-like state. All of the teachers were shocked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Tony walked into Tim's room and gasped. His son was naked except for his boxers. A ventilator assisted with breathing, making Tim's chest go up and down at timed intervals. Heart monitor electrodes were stuck to his chest also. Tim had two IVs in his left arm, and one in his right. He also had a pulse oximeter on his finger. The beeping of machines filled the room. Everything was so unnatural from the timed breathing, to the wires sticking out from seemingly everywhere on Timmy's body.

Tony tip-toed up to the bed; even though his son was in a medicated sleep, Tony felt like he should keep quiet so as not to "wake" him. "Oh, Timmy," Tony sighed, stroking the soft wisps of hair Timmy had almost reaching his eyes. "We need to get you a haircut when you get outta here." Tracing the light freckles Tim had on his face, Tony sniffed as he tried to keep it together. "How did this even happen, little one?" he asked. "They said there was a peanut butter sandwich next to you. You know better than that. What happened?"

"I believe I can answer that," Principal Fordeth said grimly, entering the room. Not only did he look shocked at the state Tim was in, he looked positively repulsed. He couldn't even begin to think how young boys could ever be so mean to each other. "Agent Dinozzo, I think you should sit down," Fordeth said. Tony looked confused, but complied. "Agent Dinozzo, apparently Timothy has been the object of some severe bullying for the past month he has been here. I have made it a priority to check up on new transfer students, but he hasn't told me anything about it."

Anthony looked livid. "What happened today?" he asked.

"Three boys who have targeted Tim forcefully fed him a peanut butter sandwich," Principal Fordeth said, getting straight to the point.

Tony shot up at this point. Gibbs, who had been standing quietly next to Tim's bed, gave Principal Fordeth the death glare as he put an arm on Tony comfortingly.

Tony sank back down, to shocked and upset to even do anything. "Boss," he cried, "Tim didn't even tell me anything. He doesn't trust me. Oh my God. I knew I'd never be a good father, but I promised Alex. I tried. That's all she wanted. What do I do now?"

Gibbs slapped Tony upside the head gently, but enough to make him look up. "Tony," he said, "Tim loves you very much. We are going to get those boys. Mr. Fordeth…"

"Please, call me Carl. I will do anything you need."

"Carl, can you get me the boys' names?"

Tom handed Gibbs a sheet of paper which contained the boys' names, addresses, and other necessary information. Also, Carl handed Gibbs a video clip of the incident. Gibbs nodded his thanks. "Tony. Tony. Ey! Dinozzo!"

Tony's head popped up at this.

"On your six, Boss!"

"Tony, stay here with Timmy. I don't think the boys will come back, but keep him under protective custody just in case. I'll get Ziva and Abby working on this right away. Do you want Jimmy to come sit with you guys?"

Tony nodded.

Gibbs left finally allowing his face to become livid at the thought of anyone trying to hurt his Timmy. He had to stay under control while he was with Tony, but now that he was alone, the anger took over. Those kids are going down.


	12. Chapter 12

_I really know nothing about juvenile delinquency or what Gibbs could do to these kids. Just making things up… but I assume, due to their age, Gibbs cannot punish them nearly as much as he would like. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this chapter better, tell me!_

Both Abby and Ziva went berserk when they found out the reason Tim was in the hospital. "I can kill them and leave no forensic, Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed.

"I can kill them 27 ways with a paper clip." Ziva chimed in.

"Then I will hide all the forensic evidence!" Abby concluded.

The girls high fived, content with their plan. Gibbs scowled. "They are just kids. I doubt they knew what they were doing." He said, handing the tape over to Abby. "Never the less, they need to be punished."

Abby inserted the tape and it began to play. After seeing the three boys deliberately target Tim, stuff the sandwich in his mouth, and then run away when he began struggling to breathe, Gibbs found himself wanting to kill the boys too. He wished he could go along with Abby and Ziva's plan; kids or not, Gibbs was enraged.

Ducky and Palmer too were incensed. Palmer wanted nothing more than to see Gibbs interrogate those boys, and he kept pacing back and forth as Ducky went over the psychological profiles of the boys. "Apparently, all three of these boys have a history of bullying," Ducky explained to Gibbs, "they went to St. Peter's, the most expensive private school around, but were kicked out after many bullying incidences. Once they went so far as to beat up a second grader who was swinging on 'their favorite swing.' The second grader was hospitalized for two days. It seems as though a boy named Kolby Baxter is the ring leader. He is the oldest at twelve. He should be in the seventh grade, but he failed second grade twice, thus putting him in Timothy's grade."

"Can we get them for attempted murder?" Gibbs growled.

"I do not know, Jethro. You need to interrogate them. It says here that Kolby's big sister is allergic to peanuts, so he knows what anaphylactic shock is like, and he knows it is life threatening. Judging from the profiles I have, I would say while Kolby probably knew what he was doing to young Timothy, Michael, and Jonathon were just following his corrupted lead."

"But they didn't even attempt to help Tim!" Gibbs snarled and proceeded to stomp out of the room. "I'm having them brought here for interrogation! And that Kolby kid… Ziva is interrogating."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Meanwhile, Tony was keeping a silent vigil over his son. Every fifteen minutes, a nurse would come in, check Timmy's vital signs, and write everything down on a clipboard at the bottom of the bed. One nurse took pity on the worried father and brought him an extra pillow and blanket. Brad came in to check on Timmy and Tony every so often too. Timmy vital signs were stable at the moment, but he was nowhere near out of the woods yet. And, Tony was so worried about his son, that he was tense and not able to sleep.

Finally, Brad pulled up a chair next to Tony and stared. Tension was practically vibrating off of his friend. "Tony?" Brad said quietly, "talk to me, man. How you holding up?"

"I'm so worried about him, Brad. He never told me about any of the bullying, and his principal said he suspected it has been happening ever since he started at the school. They almost killed him! I know Gibbs will take care of the boys who did this, but I don't understand why Timmy wouldn't tell me. I even suspected it too. I should have confronted him. Am I really that bad of a father? I've been trying so hard. I love him so much."

Brad nodded. While he understood where Tony's concerns were coming from, he didn't think they had all that much merit. "Tony?" he questioned, "has Tim confided in you about his mother?"

Tony shook his head.

"Tony, I am no psychologist, but I think Tim is just trying to seem brave in front of you. He sees you as a hero; you are out fighting crime, making the world a better place. Just let him know you are human and have feelings. I know you love him, but tell him that. A lot. Boys his age need constant reassurance; usually, they get that from their mothers, but he only has you. Let him know. Let him know you love him and are proud of him. Buy him a small gift every so often, or take him out to a movie when he gets A's on his report card. He may be only eight, but he has been through a lot in his life, judging from what you have told me."

Tony smiled and nodded thoughtfully. "I will Brad, thanks a lot." Then he grinned, "But, if I do that every time he comes home with an A, I'll be broke. He's so smart. Did you know he skipped a grade?" Tony paused reflectively, "He's opened up a lot since his mom died, but I think we need to have more serious father/son discussions."

Brad grinned and slapped Tony on the back. "That's the attitude man…" Brad was about to go on when piercing alarms filled the air…

_Kind of short, but I will have the next chapter up later today… after I write it. =)_


	13. Chapter 13

_Don't own NCIS. Don't know if this could really happen. Suggestions are welcome. Dear reviewers, you are awesome. =) Also, because I am talented, I poked myself in the finger with a nail, so if there are lots of typos… that's why. Haha. Lastly ,I'm sorr; I know I promised to have this up yesterday, but once again, I got busy. At least it's up early morning today. Sorry, I'll stop ranting now._

Tony's snapped to attention as the alarms blared and doctors, nurses, and medical personal filled the room. Brad was shouting orders, but it was all a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo to Tony. He watched as Brad took two defibrillator pads and shocked Timmy's chest. The boy's body jumped as electricity ran through it. Tears slipped down Tony's cheeks. Twice more the doctors shocked Tim. Finally, Tony heard a steady beep, beep, beep, of the heart monitor. He sank to the ground in relief.

The doctors gathered around Tim's bed and began pushing him out of the PICU room. "Where are you taking him?" a distressed Tony asked.

"Go on, I'll catch up," Brad said to his colleagues as he began to address Tony. "Tony, Timmy has coded four times already since this afternoon when he was brought here. We need to insert an external pacemaker to make sure his heartbeat remains steady. It will eventually be removed, I promise. We just need to keep him stable."

Tears were still sliding down Tony's cheeks as Brad pulled him in for a comforting man-hug. "I'm taking the best possible care of him, Tony." Brad whispered.

Tony gave a watery smile to Brad. "I know, man. Thanks."

"I'll update you in an hour, Tony."

With that, Brad went off to help his colleagues prep Tim for surgery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at NCIS headquarters, Gibbs had three interrogation rooms filled with his three known suspects and three social workers, who had to be present whenever a child under sixteen was being interrogated. Gibbs was pissed. Tony had just called to tell him Tim had coded again and was being fitted for a pacemaker. They had gotten him back, but just barely. Tony was hardly keeping it together. Watching your kid technically die before your eyes was beyond frightening. It was downright terrifying. Gibbs wanted nothing more to go comfort his surrogate son, but right now he had a job to do.

Gibbs stormed off to interrogation room one where Kolby Baxter was sitting on a chair looking smug. Gibbs reigned in his emotions, but he could not help the fire that shone in his blue eyes. The person responsible was going to pay for hurting Tim. Slamming the door, Gibbs was content to see Kolby jump a little. He had been stewing in the room for twenty minutes by himself now (besides the social worker), and was getting restless. "About time," he exclaimed saucily to Gibbs. "I'm just a kid. You can't treat me like this. My father is a lawyer. He could probably have you thrown in jail for this."

Gibbs pulled up a seat, placed it backwards, and sat on it, all the while staring at the kid. After another ten minutes he just walked out. Kolby started yelling, "Hey! You can't do…"

Ziva walked in. Her eyes held the malice she felt for the boy who had hurt her Timmy. Kolby had the right mindset to at least look a little scared. Ziva slammed her hands on the table. "Just because you are bigger than him, you think you can hurt him? Huh? I am bigger than you. Does that give me the right to hurt you? I wish."

Slowly Ziva showed the boy pictures of Tim in the hospital. She showed him all the machinery he was attached to. She showed him the video that proved he was a part of it. The boy sat through it all, his eyes betraying the only emotion he felt. Unfortunately for him, it was not guilt. It was pride.

That was all Ziva needed. She got close to him and whispered in his ear. "I can get you time in the juvenile hammer if that is what you wish. Attempted murder. That does not bode well for you."

The boy just smirked. "Don't you mean the slammer?" he retorted.

Ziva could not hold in her anger anymore. Although she walked calmly out the door, she was fuming inside. Gibbs looked at her as she came out. Slowly, he held out his arms. Usually, the Ziva he knew did not need comforting, but Tim had broken her frigid exterior. Gladly, Ziva accepted the comfort, but only for a moment. "Gibbs, you need to lock up that boy and toss the key into the Potomac." She exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Ziva. You got me all I need to know. He is not remorseful at all. The other boys are somewhat. I can get Baxter here into juvie for several years. The other boys are being suspended from school, and must check in with a social worker twice a week for the next year. They also have to do community service. And a lot of it at that."

Ziva nodded. She still wanted to kill all the boys and leave no forensic evidence, with her favorite goth's help. But, she would take what she could get.

_Another short chapter. Will update soon with the next one. Sorry there wasn't any bloodshed. I didn't think the NCIS team could actually hurt the boys in any way without serious repercussions. Also, I wish I could be harder, and throw them all in jail, but I don't think it would really happen. Trying to be realistic here. Again, suggestion, constructive criticism… always welcome. _


	14. Chapter 14

_Dear, reviewers: Sorry I have not replied to all your messages individually. I just want to say, thank you. You are all awesome. Special thanks to people who have reviewed more than once. _

It had been three days since Tim's allergic episode. The doctors said he was doing as well as could be hoped. They were starting to wean him off of the sedatives. Due to them, he had not awoken since the bullying incident.

Tony had been at Tim's side the whole time. Gibbs and the rest of the team had been there too, all playing the part of concerned family. Jimmy stayed with Tony and Tim almost the whole time, also. Tony and him watched movies, played some chess (Jimmy always won), and Abby even hooked up Tony's X-box to the in-room TV, so the team could teach Ziva how to play Halo.

Tim hadn't had any more complications since the external pacemaker had been inserted in to his chest. The team caught Tony staring at his son a lot. The poor boy had every tube and wire one could think of connected to him. A Foley catheter, the ventilator, a heart monitor, the pacemaker, a blood pressure cuff, an oximeter, IVs, and the newest addition, an NG tube to keep Tim nourished, filled the room with incessant beeping, whirring, and clicking noises.

Tony was so glad Tim was beginning to be weaned off the sedatives. He didn't realize how much he relied on his son's bright smile to get him through the day. Improvements were already being seen by the team. Tim had wiggled his fingers, his first movement in days. The doctors said he would probably be waking up in a matter of hours.

Gibbs thought back to the previous day. After watching his precious surrogate grandson's medicated slumber for a while, he had received a phone call from 'Uncle Leon.' Apparently, Kolby Baxter's father had just come home from a business trip to learn his son was out of the Juvenile Delinquent Center on bail, and was awaiting trial for attempted murder. To say the father was pissed would be an understatement. The man had come to the Naval Base, demanded to see the director, and thrown a couple punches. He was currently in a holding cell "cooling off."

Gibbs smiled slightly. The kid had already disobeyed one of the conditions of his bail and been thrown back in juvie until the impending trial. Not only that, but they had also gotten the father on charges of assault on a federal officer. Tim was on the mend and life was good.

A sudden noise snapped Gibbs out of his reminiscing. Little Timothy Dinozzo was staring at him with fear-filled eyes. Struggling against the breathing tube down his throat, Timmy tried to move his arms and was met by his dad and grandpa's hands holding him down.

"Tim," said Gibbs, "Ey Tim. Look at me. You need the tube to help you breathe right now. Just relax and let the machine do the work for you. Kay kiddo?"

Tears leaked out of Tim's eyes, but he nodded anyway. "Good to have you back, kiddo." Said Gibbs with a smile.

Tony brushed his son's hair in a fatherly way and pressed the call button for a doctor. Brad came in about a minute later. "Why hello there, Timmy." He said jovially. "It's nice to see you awake. How about we do a quick exam?"

Brad shined a penlight into Tim's eyes to check the pupil dilation. Brad also made Tim follow his finger with his eyes. "Looking good so far, Timmy. Now, tell me, are you in any pain. Blink once for yes, twice for no."

Timmy blinked twice, but tears started running down his cheeks anyway. Tony moved to brush them away and Gibbs grabbed Tim's hand comfortingly. "Hey buddy," Gibs said. "I know the breathing tube and all these machines are really uncomfortable, but they are helping you."

Ziva chose this point to walk in. "Timmy!" she cried. "You are awake!"

Tim turned his head to see his aunt. Brad also greeted Ziva, who had walked over and placed a gentle kiss on her nephew's forehead. "Hey, Tim. Do you want the breathing tube out?" Brad asked.

Tim nodded as much as the tube in his mouth would allow. "Okay," Brad said. "Just give me a second here."

Two nurses walked in on Dr. Pitt's beckoning. "Timmy," the younger one said, "We are going to take the NG tube out first. Just relax and let the ventilator continue to breathe for you for a couple more minutes."

The NG tube was out a couple minutes later. Brad explained that usually he would keep the NG tube in, but he wanted Tim to be able to eat on his own, and he did not in any way want it obstructing oxygen.

"Alright, Timmy, now we'll take the tube out for you." Brad said. "I need you to cough as hard as you can."

Tim complied and gagged on the tube as Brad pulled it out of his mouth. Immediately, the second nurse placed a hissing oxygen mask over Tim's face as he gasped for air. The little boy's face was very pale, but the extra oxygen calmed him down a bit, and he tried to talk. "Thirsty…" was all he managed to rasp out. The words were muffled by the bulky mask, but Tony jumped to grab some water. He held it near his son's head and placed a straw in his mouth. Tim took small sips, and when he was done, Gibbs gentlu replaced the oxygen mask. Some color returned to Tim's cheeks.

"Alright, Tim here needs his sleep. If he needs anything, press the call button. Nurses will be in to check on his breathing every twenty minutes or so." Said Brad.

"Thanks, buddy." Tony said.

_Up next: Tony tells Tim what happened with the kids who hurt him. Also, some family moments with the whole team while Tim recovers. Maybe what will happen regarding Tim's schooling. Not completely sure. We shall see._


	15. Chapter 15

Another two days had passed since Tim had woken up from his induced coma. He had lost almost ten pounds, and for someone as small as him, that was bad. Tony was worrying, Gibbs was practically force-feeding Timmy, and Brad was threatening to put Tim back on a NG tube. Timmy was still hooked up to several machines including the external pacemaker he had to have placed, a heart monitor, two IVs, a Foley catheter (since the doctors wouldn't let him get up yet), and a pulse oximetry. Also, he was still getting some needed assistance with breathing via a nasal cannula. Since he was still having some breathing trouble, Brad had scheduled him for an arterial blood gas test, which was to occur in about an hour. After that, the whole team was coming to Tim's hospital room for a movie.

Tony finally got some time alone with Tim, when Gibbs, who had been by his side almost constantly since closing the case, went for coffee. (He figured the father/son needed some alone time). "I'll be back in time for the blood gas thingy." Gibbs called as he walked out the door.

"Timmy?" Tony said.

"Yeah, daddy?"

"Kolby, Michael, and Jon are never going to bother you again. We have restraining orders placed on all of them, Kolby had to go to a jail for kids, and Michael and Jon are suspended from your school indefinitely."

Tim nodded. "Kay, daddy. I knew you and grandpa and Aunt Ziva wouldn't let them bother me anymore."

"Timmy," Tony started. "Why didn't you tell me they were bullying you?"

Tim looked down at his hands and started playing with the IV tubing. "I didn't think it would be so bad," he mumbled. "I wanted to be brave and handle it myself. I'm sorry, daddy."

Tony pulled Tim into a hug. "Hey, baby," Tony replied. "You, no joke, are the bravest kid I know."

Tim smiled.

"Now, Dr. Pitt said you can't go back to school for a while. Principal Fordeth is going to have a tutor come to the hospital for you until you get better. Then, the tutor is going to teach you at home or NCIS for a while. How's that sound?"

Tim shrugged. "It's okay. I can go back to school though, right? Am I in trouble for not telling anybody about Kolby or them?"

"You do want to go back there?" Tony questioned.

"Yeah. The other kids are only afraid to be friends with me 'cuz of them. Kolby, and Michael, and Jon threatened if any of them became friends with me, they would get beat up."

Tony looked only mildly shocked. Those kids were so horrible. He wished Ziva and Abby had been allowed to deal with them a bit more effectively. An evil grin graced his face at the idea.

Timmy's eyes began to droop, and Tony could tell Timmy was starting to flag. The conversation had been the most he had talked since he had been extubated. "Okay, bud. It's up to you. We'll discuss this further later. Right now you need to take a nap."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, almost to the dot, Gibbs strolled in holding two cups of coffee. He handed Tony one and sat down. Tony motioned for him to be quiet. "Timmy's sleeping," Tony whispered.

"Yeah, Dinozzo. I noticed." Gibbs answered, just as Brad walked in. "Guess it's time to wake him up though."

Tony nodded and shook his son awake gently. "Hey there, baby boy. Lets get this over with, then the rest of the fam is coming for movies."

Timmy tried to look brave, but only suceeded in looking even more miserable. "Tony?" Brad questioned. "Can I talk to you out here for a moment?"

Gibbs tried to keep Timmy distracted as Brad addressed Dinozzo. "Tony, this arterial blood gas test, is not fun. It's a fairly big needle, and since Tim is so small, we have to use his femoral artery in his leg, rather than the more conventional radial artery."

"You got the IVs in his arms," Tony said, frowning. He remembered all too well when Ducky had taken Tim's blood from a vein in his leg. This sounded more invasive and lots more painful. He hated to have to see his son go through this.

"I know, but IVs are much smaller."

Tony just shook his head, "alright. Let's just get this over with quickly."

Brad began prepping Tim for the procedure. Gibbs was regaling Timmy with a story from his marine days, which had the little boy giggling. Brad lowered the guard rails on Tim's hospital bed, and Tony sat behind Tim, being careful of all the wires. Tim sat between his dad's legs leaned his head back against his him.

As Brad pulled down the blankets, Tony scowled at the Foley catheter sticking out from the opening of his son's boxer shorts and taped down Tim's leg. Remembering his own not so fun experience with the catheter, he shuddered, pulling Tim a bit closer.

Brad started pouring rubbing alchohol on Tim's right leg, and the boy started whimpering. Timmy turned his face into his dad's chest. "Nooo. Daddy!" he cried pitifully.

Tony stroked his son's hair, wishing with all his heart he could trade places. He could see the rise in blood pressure on the monitor next to the bed, due to Tim's nervousness. Brad noticed this too. "Hey, Timmy. I want you to stay calm, okay? Take nice deep breaths through your nose for me? Okay?... Good boy."

Brad tied a tourniquet around the upper part of Tim's leg. Timmy closed his eyes and buried his face deeper into his dad's chest. Tony held Tim tightly, but his eyes widened at the sight of the needle. "Geez louise. That was one freakin' big needle." He thought to himself, glad Tim wasn't looking. Gibbs held Timmy's hand.

"Okay, Timmy," Brad said. "Big needle stick."

Tim yelped as the needle slid into his leg and began thrashing and sobbing. Gibbs grabbed Timmy's legs and attempted to hold him down, but the damage was already done. Brad had to take the needle out and start again.

"Shit," Gibbs swore silently under his breath.

Brad grabbed another needle and vial. Jimmy had been standing outside the door, waiting for the test to be finished, but Brad called him in. Instructing Gibbs and Jimmy to restrain Timmy as gently as they could, Brad swabbed Tim's leg again, a little lower down.

The poor kid was still crying hard. Tony looked like he wanted to cry too, but he was holding himself together for Tim's sake. Tim was now taking great heaving, wheezy breaths, and his lips were turning a faint blue. Brad paused. He frowned and set the needle down for a minute.

"Hey Timmy. I need you to take some nice deep breaths. But, Tim's breaths started coming out in short wheezy gasps, so Brad grabbed an oxygen mask, turned it on "full blast" and placed it over Tim's mouth and nose. "Okay, Tim. In and out slowly now."

Tim's breathing calmed down, and Brad prepared for arterial blood gas test take two. He hated to do it to the kid, but it was necessary. Jimmy and Gibbs grabbed Tim's legs again. Brad reinserted the needle into Tim's leg.

Immediately, Tim started sobbing again. Tears ran down his reddened cheeks, and his breath fogged up the mask over his face. Tony held him close. "You're doing great, baby boy." He soothed.

"Last one, Timmy," said Brad, as he stuck another vial into the needle. It filled up quickly, and Brad placed a piece of gauze over the artery before pulling the needle out.

"You did great, Timmy. We're all done."

Tim responded by curling up as tightly as he could against his dad and crying, still gulping air from the mask over his face. Tony rubbed circles against Tim's back and whispered words of encouragement in his ear. Gibbs never wanted to kill a kid before, until now. Gosh, he wished that Kolby Baxter was older.

_Okay, my bad. Team moment next chapter. Less Timmy torture next chapter and perhaps for a bit. Lemme know what you think. But, ooh, don't worry angst/hurt/comfort lovers. Do I have plans for poor Timmy after he is recovered. 0.o_


	16. Chapter 16

A couple of hours later, the whole team had gathered in Timmy's new room in the intermediate ICU. Yes! He had been moved. Tim was feeling a bit better, even though Brad wouldn't let him remove the oxygen mask yet. Every time he attempted to take it off, it was pushed back down by a scowling Grandpa Gibbs. Still, Tim was smiling and happy.

Tony had picked out a movie. Abby had snuck in pizza for dinner, and the team was contentedly sitting around. Jared, the guest of honor as Tony called him, was sitting next to Tim, and happily chattering about his last baseball game. Timmy was looking in awe at his idol, as Jared relayed the game-winning double play he had been a part of.

Brad came in and joined the team. He rolled his eyes as he saw the pizza, and how many people were in the room. "I'm going to pretend that I don't notice this. Okay?" he joked, grabbing a slice of pizza.

Everyone laughed throughout the movie. Tony, as always, did his imitations, which made everything funnier. Even Gibbs had smiled a couple times at his surrogate son's antics.

All too soon, the movie was over, and Brad was herding everyone out of the room. Timmy had fallen asleep against Gibbs, who was looking at him tenderly. Tony was grinning like a lunatic at the sight. Kissing Timmy's head, Tony went to lie down on the cot. Things were looking up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later, Tim's teacher stopped by with all the homework he needed to do while he was working with the tutor. "Gosh, Tim," she said, "I'm really sorry all this happened. I had no idea."

Tim smiled at her. "It's okay, Ms. Jackson." He said. His voice was still slightly muffled by the oxygen mask. "Daddy said they can't bother me again. And, when I can go home, Daddy is going to buy me a bookcase and lots of books, so I can't get bored while I'm 'covering."

"That's awesome, Timmy. You have a great dad."

"The best," Timmy replied sleepily.

Ms. Jackson smiled tenderly at the little boy. He had such a nice personality, and he had so much potential. "Okay, Tim. I have to get going. If you have any questions or if you need anything, just call me. Okay?"

Tony thanked her, but Tim didn't reply. He had already fallen asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

A week later, Tim woke up with a big smile on his face. Today he got to go home! Provided, he wasn't allowed to go anywhere except for NCIS with his dad, and he still had to wear the nasal cannula since his breathing hadn't gone back to normal, and he still had to work with the tutor (Tim scowled at this thought, the tutor, Mrs. Perry, treated him like a five-year-old), and he had to go see Dr. Pitt every couple of days, and the external pacemaker was still in place until Dr. Pitt deemed it okay to come out, but Tim didn't care all that much. He was finally was getting out of the stupid hospital.

"Daddy!" Tim shouted. Tony was sleeping on a cot next to Tim's bed.

Tony mumbled something unintelligible, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Gibbs walked in.

"Dinozzo! Get your butt outta bed." Gibbs barked.

"On your six, Boss!"

Timmy sat in the wheelchair, excitedly swinging his legs. "Can we go now?" he whined.

"Timothy Dinozzo," Tony sighed, "you be patient."

"I've been a patient for two weeks now!" Timmy smiled at his joke, as his dad rolled his eyes.

"Okay!" said the nurse, "That's the last of the paper work."

"Finally!" Timmy grinned. Dr. Pitt high-fived him.

"Alrighty, Timmy, I'll see you in three days."

"See yah, Dr. Pitt!" Timmy exclaimed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at home, Timmy fell into an exhausted sleep on the couch curled up with Scruffles. Tony had to go back to work in two days. Tim would be coming with him and would be tutored at NCIS until Brad said he could go back to school. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Ding dong. Timmy quietly got up to answer it. He opened the door, but was surprised to see a complete stranger. "Can I help you?" he asked, always a polite child.

"Who are you? Where's Anthony?" the stranger barked, surprised to see a sickly looking child wearing an oxygen cannula at the door.

"Daddy?" Timmy cried. Tony came running.

"Who's at the… Dad?" Tony asked, his eyes growing large. "What are you doing here?"

"Junior! Can't a man come visit his son?"

Timmy watched the exchange with wide green eyes.

"Can't a man call first?" Tony shot back.

The elder Dinozzo chose to ignore that and instead pushed his way inside the apartment. "Who's the kid? What's wrong with him?" he inquired rudely.

Tony looked chagrined. "That, dad, is my son. He is sick." He replied, giving as little information as possible. "What do you want?"

_OoOoh. What will happen in the Dinozzo family? How does Anthony senior feel about Timmy (and not being told Tim exists)? Sorry this is short._


	17. Chapter 17

"YOUR WHAT!" Anthony Dinozzo Senior bellowed.

"My son." Tony replied calmly. Timmy trembled a bit at the loud man, so Tony put his arm around him. "It's okay, buddy. That's my dad. Why don't you go sit down?"

Tim complied, as the senior Dinozzo continued to rant and rage. "I can't believe you didn't call me. Why didn't you tell me you have a kid? I always hoped you would get your own kid someday, as payback for how you were as a kid. I always knew something like this would happen to you, you good for nothing…"

"Dad." Tim growled angrily," Tim is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Now, if you want to be civil, you may come in. Otherwise, leave. Now."

Anthony Dinozzo Sr. shut up and followed his son inside, albeit with a scowl on his face. Tony carried his father's suitcases into his own room, vowing that he would only let his father stay for a short while.

Anthony Dinozzo Sr. stepped into the apartment. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he looked at Timmy. "Whatcha starin' at, boy?... Answer me when I talk to you! Are you dumb or something?"

"No, Sir," Tim said, proud of his unwavering voice.

"Well that's good," Anthony Dinozzo sr. said sarcastically. "So what's wrong with you? Why are you wearing that thing?" he asked, pointing to the oxygen tank. "You look like an old person."

"I have asthma," Tim said simply.

Tony walked back in. "Hey, Timmy," he said lovingly. "How you feeling, hon?"

"Fine," Tim said grumpily.

"Good. I see you met my dad, huh?"

Tim nodded.

"He's going to stay with us for a couple days, alrighty?"

The normally easy-going, polite, jovial Tim was conspicuously absent as the young boy frowned. "Yes, dad." He said, but his displeasure was obvious in his voice.

Tony smiled slightly. "Dad, you can stay in my room."

Tony's father rolled his eyes, but as it was getting late, decided to retire without further argument.

"Timmy?" Tony asked when his father had exited.

"Yah, daddy?" Timmy replied, exhaustion evident in his voice.

"Hey, buddy, can I crash in your room for a couple days?"

"We're going to have a camp out?" Tim asked excitedly.

"Yeah, sure."

"Alright! Cool. Will you tell me a story?"

"Sure, kiddo. Let's get ready for bed first. I'm so glad you're home."

"Me too, daddy."

"I'll bet," Tony said with a smile as he ruffled his son's hair. "What kind of story do you want?"

Timmy hesitated at the question. "Will you—will you tell me a story about my mom and you?"

Tony looked surprised. "Well, of course I will Tim."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Tony was up bright and early. He blinked rapidly at his surroundings, until he remembered that Tim was out of the hospital and his father had come for a visit. Tony sighed; he had to go to work, and Timmy was still sleeping. "I suppose dad could watch him for a bit…" Tony surmised.

Quietly extracting himself from his son's arms, (Tim had fallen asleep squeezing his dad), Tony tip-toed into his own bedroom. "Dad…?" he called softly.

"What did I tell you about calling me that? It's father or sir."

"Sorry, father." Tony growled. "I have to go to work. Can you handle watching Tim for a while? I'll be home soon, and I don't want to wake him up to take him to work with me. I figure I'll let him recover a bit at home. I shouldn't be long; my team has been off the roster since Tim was in the hospital."

"All our taxes put to good work," Anthony Dinozzo sr. said sarcastically. "Yeah, I think I can handle him."

Tony nodded, unfortunately not hearing "the little brat" mumbled under his father's breath.

"Okay. There are a few things you should know. He absolutely cannot have any peanuts, shellfish, or latex near him. No cats either. Obviously, there is nothing of the sort around here. No going outside. Just keep him here. Maybe watch a movie or something; he needs to rest and recover. Timmy loves board games; Scrabble is his favorite. He'll love you forever if you play it with him, but he'll kick your ass. Under no circumstances is he to remove the nasal cannula. His breathing will get real bad without the extra oxygen flow. "

Anthony Dinozzo sr. tried not to roll his eyes. Obviously the spoiled boy needed to be taught a lesson. Sitting around playing games was no good for boys his age, sick or not. Tony, Anthony Dinozzo sr., knew he could never change. It was too late for him, but the young, impressionable boy who was supposedly his grandson. Well he was a different story.

_Short… yah yah. I know. I've been crazy busy. Okay, so I have two ideas… let me know which you like better. AD sr. kidnaps Tim. More torture-y/angst-y… or Tony walks in on AD sr. being terribly mean in his own home… Idk. Either way I'll sic the team on AD sr._


	18. Chapter 18

_WeatherlyGirl- I know it doesn't seem to make sense, but Tony is so dedicated to his job. Also, while Sr. is acting badly towards Tim, Tony hasn't really witnessed it. Don't worry, I'll have Gibbs yell at Tony for coming in._

_*Mizncis- Note at bottom (b/c of "spoilers for the chapter")_

_All Readers: the overwhelming vote was towards walking in on Sr. I'm not going to put much torture, just mental angst, especially for Tony since he made the mistake. Review more! __ALSO, THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REVIEWED AND WROTE THEIR OPINIONS. I TOOK TIME TO READ AND CONSIDER THEM I can't obviously use everything people suggested, I really liked some of the suggestions (BrookeMctiire, meegeesgeek, njferrell). I APRECIATE __**ALL**__ OF YOUR FEEDBACK; KEEP IT COMING. =)_

Tony went off to work with specific instructions for his dad. He knew Tim staying with hiazs dad wasn't ideal, but he didn't want Tim to have to get up early and go out on his first day back; and Gibbs needed Tony back on the job. The team had been off the case roster for a while. It was only fair to the others to go back. Tony sighed, he didn't want to leave Timmy, but he figured it was best for the team.

Tony entered the bullpen with the precedented "beep" of the elevator. "Tony!" Ziva exclaimed, surprised. "I did not know you were coming back. I thought you were…"

"Dinozzo!" Gibbs interrupted, "What the HELL are you doing here? Where is Timmy?"

"Boss, my father came over last…"

"Your father! I thought he verbally abused you when you were younger? He freaking disowned you when you were twelve!"

"Yeah, but… he's gotten better. We're repairing our relationship. I thought some time with Timmy would be good for him, and I thought you might need me back. I've already taken up all my vacation time, and I'm going to be bringing Timmy here a lot. I don't know…"

Gibbs slapped Tony head. "Tony," he said, a little more nicely, "go home. Be with your son; take care of him. I'm going to stop by later. You will come back when I see fit. Then, AND ONLY then."

"Yes sir!" Tony said saluting sarcastically.

"Get outta here," Gibbs growled, slapping Tony's head more lightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Meanwhile, Anthony Sr. had woken Tim up and put him to work. "The kitchen needs cleaning boy." Timmy looked around for his dad with sad eyes. He couldn't believe his dad would abandon him like that. "I'm sick, sir." Timmy replied. "I need my rest. I just got out of the hospital."

Dinozzo sr. scowled. "You slept. It's 7:00. Now no more backtalk or you will be punished." With that, the man took out a flask of alcohol and sipped it contentedly.

Timmy set about scrubbing the pans that had been left out overnight to soak. Only a few minutes later, though, Tim began to flag. His breathing became mildly erratic. "Sir," Timmy sniffled. "I can't do this."

"NONSENSE!" Dinozzo sr. boomed. "Stop your whining. You are not a baby."

Tim leaned heavily against the counter and coughed. Dinozzo sr. angrily rose from the table he had been "observing" at and struck Tim's face.

Tim cried out and sat down. At that moment, the door opened.

"Dad?" Tony whispered. "Is Timmy still sleeping."

Then Tony heard muffled crying. He rushed into the kitchen. Dinozzo sr. had his hand over Tim's mouth. Tim was not breathing as well as he should, and he had a nasty black eye forming. Tony growled ferociously and leapt toward his dad.

"How dare you touch him!" he screamed, punching his father in the gut. "I thought you changed!" Tony took out his handcuffs and slapped them on Dinozzo sr. wrists tightly, while at the same time pulling out his phone. "Ducky?" he cried. "I need you to come over to my apartment. Tim needs to be checked out stat. Can you call Gibbs and tell him there is a criminal he needs to pick up."

The normally verbose Ducky quickly hung up, stunned to hear the quavering voice of Anthony Dinozzo (jr). Ten minutes later, the whole NCIS team entered Tony's apartment to a startling scene. Tim and Tony were sitting in a corner of the kitchen. Tim was quietly sobbing and tears were running down Tony's cheeks. "I'm sorry, Timmy. Oh, God, I'm so so sorry." He kept repeating. On the other side of the room, Dinozzo sr. sat in handcuffs glaring angrily at the whole team.

"You better damn well let me out of these things!" he shouted. "I'm suing all of NCIS…" he went on and on, but the team tuned him out as Ducky gently went over to Tony and Tim.

"Hello there, Timothy. It seems you have had some… oh my." Ducky spotted the black eye Tim was already sporting. "Well, let's look you over my dear boy." Tony and Ducky carefully guided Tim to his room.

Somberly, Tony left Ducky and Tim in the bedroom and went to talk to Gibbs. Gibbs led him into another room, where Tony broke down. "G-gibbs." He wept. "I messed up big time. I thought he was ch-changing. I th-thought he had changed. I could tell T-Timmy didn't like him. I j-j-just thought they would bond. We had been getting along better. Timmy's never going to trust me again. What if doesn't want to stay here anymore?"

Gibbs didn't say anything; he just pulled Tony into a fatherly embrace. "It's going to be okay, Tony." He said. "Every parent messes up at one time or another. I remember the first time I really messed up with Kelly…" Gibbs' eyes misted over. "I was so preoccupied. I left her at the playground by herself. She was only four years old. Only lasted for fifteen minutes, but anything could have happened. Thank God, nothing did. She was a spunky one though; she was so mad at me, but I apologized and took her out for ice cream. Worked like a charm." Gibbs smiled at the memory. "You want to go talk to your son?"

Tony looked very unsure of himself, but Gibbs nodded encouragingly. "Will you come?" Tony asked.

"Sure."

Tony entered the bedroom first and knelt beside Tim's bed. Tim was lying on his side facing the wall. Silent sobs still shook his body. Tony just crawled up next to him and held him. Timmy quickly faced his father and threw his arms around him. "D-daddy!" he cried. Tony was crying too.

"Hey, buddy. God, I'm soo sorry. I didn't realize…"

"I know you didn't mean it, dad."

"How about some ice cream?"

"Sure." Tim said, "but if you think that is going to get you completely off the hook…" Tim grinned devishly.

"Haha. Oh, Tim," Tony replied, ruffling his hair with a watery smile, "I love you so much."

_*Mizncis- I was thinking about that. Possibly, I'm going to have Sr. break out of jail, with the help of money and coercion and then kidnap Tim. I figure I'll see what the readers think later on. Right now, I think Tim is due for some fun._

_Soooo, what should I do next chapter people?_


	19. Chapter 19

_Dearest readers. I am soooo sorry about the delay in all my writing. I know it has been a long time coming, and I appreciate everyone who has read and kept up with my writing. I am really busy with school, and I am assistant coaching a tennis team. So, yeah… anyways. _

Dinozzo Sr. was dragged into NCIS headquarters kicking, screaming, and cursing. People all around looked up to see what the commotion was. Ziva happily handled the situation by roughly pushing Dinozzo Sr. to the interrogation rooms. Gibbs followed passively. At one point, Dinozzo Sr. kicked Ziva, hard in the shin. She reacted by giving him a nice punch to the face, breaking his nose. "Self defense, Gibbs," she said nonchalantly. Gibbs nodded in assent.

They arrived at the interrogation rooms, and Dinozzo Sr. was shoved unceremoniously in. Gibbs, Ziva, and Jimmy crowded into the observation room. Angrily, Gibbs stared through the mirror at his senior field agent's pathetic excuse for a (biological only) father. Twenty minutes passed, then thirty, then fourty, Jimmy started to pace. Ziva stood passively, watching Gibbs, who was in turn still watching Anthony Dinozzo Sr. Finally, Gibbs exited the observation room, in order to conduct his interrogation.

Calmly, Gibbs strode in the room. The only thing that gave testament to the righteous hatred and indignation he felt toward his subject were his icy blue eyes. He sat down and continued his staring as Anthony Dinozzo Sr. began to rant and rage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Meanwhile, Ducky, Tony, and Timmy were sitting around the kitchen table enjoying a pleasant game of Clue. Ducky had agreed to stay with the father and son, so as to keep an eye on Timmy for a couple hours. The game finished as Tony made his guess, "Mrs. Peacock, with the pistol, in the kitchen." Tim's eyes lit up with laughter as his father checked his guess. "What?" he sputtered. "Damn… I mean darn it… I was so sure!"

Both Ducky and Tim chuckled at Tony's muttering. "Well!" Tony exclaimed. "If you guys are so smart, why don't you guess?"

"It's Mr. Green, with the pistol, in the dining room, daddy," Tim said. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay you win Timmy boy. Do you guys want ice cream?" Tim nodded eagerly, and Ducky agreed also. While Tony spooned out the ice cream, his cell phone rang. "Dinozzo," he answered nonchalantly.

"Dinozzo," Gibbs said, "your father is going to jail. We have everything we need for a trial, and he is going to be held without bail."

"Thank God," Tony said.

"Alright, I'll be over in a couple hours. I'll bring dinner."

"Awesome! See you soon."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple weeks later, almost everything was back to normal. Tim was back to school oxygen and pace-maker free, Tony was back at work, and Anthony Dinozzo Sr. was still in jail. Tim was starting to like school more and more. The school had put into effect a "bully-free" policy, and Tim was starting to make new friends. Tony had been wanting to get Tim something really nice, and he was starting to get extremely excited; he had the perfect idea after one of the cases that had just been wrapped up. He was going to get Timmy a dog!

The NCIS team had just finished a case in which a dog had been suspected of the murder of his master*. Luckily, (thanks to Abby's insistence that the dog was innocent), the real murderer had been found. Now, the dog did not have a home, and Abby (who had dubbed the German Shepherd Jethro, and originally wanted to take him) wasn't allowed to have pets at her apartment. She practically begged Tony to take him. "Tony please!" she said, "Timmy's not allergic, and he would love having Jethro. He's such a sweet dog, and he would be so good with Timmy. And you're allowed to have pets at your apartment! Please! Please!"

As Tony listened to her incessant begging, he began to agree. Tim would love having a dog, and it would be good for Tim to have some responsibility upon him. Maybe it would also help keep him safe, and get him a little more exercise (in going for walks). So, he said, "yes."

He couldn't wait for the day to end. As he went to pick up Timmy from school, Tony was bouncing like a three-year-old. Tim grinned at his father. "What's up daddy?" he asked.

"I have a surprise for you!" Tony exclaimed, as he affectionately tousled his son's hair. "Gibbs gave the team the rest of the day off, so Aunt Ziva's going to bring it over in a little bit." (Abby had to go bowling with the nuns later that night, and couldn't come).

Timmy started to get excited too. "What is it dad!" he asked, a huge smile gracing his face.

"I'm not telling!"

"Just give me a hint," cried Timmy as they pulled out of the school parking lot.

"Nu uh. Aunt Ziva will be over in a little bit. I want it to be a surprise."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As promised, Auntie Ziva showed up about an hour later. As she opened the unlocked door, Tim pounced on her. "Aunt Ziva!" He cried engulfing her in a hug. Then he looked around, "Where's my surprise?"

Ziva chuckled loudly. "It's in the car, Timothy. Where is your father? He will want to come too."

"Daddy!" Tim cried, running around the apartment in search of him. "Aunt Ziva is here. Come on! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Tony couldn't help but grin widely at his son's antics. "Okay Timmy boy, I'm coming." And with that, the trio traipsed down the flight of stairs (Tony's apartment was on the second floor). Ziva and Tony stood back as Tim rushed to the car in excited anticipation.

"Woof!" came the resounding reply. Tim's face split into the biggest smile Tony had seen yet.

"A dog! You got me a dog!" He quickly opened the car door, and the dog bounded out. Timmy engulfed it in a hug, and kissed its wet nose. Tony made a face, but allowed the excited boy to greet the animal. "What's his name?" came muffled question (Tim's face was still buried in the dog's fur) a few minutes later.

Tony grinned, "Abby called him Jethro."

Tim looked up. "Like grandpa?"

"Yep," Tony said.

"I like it." Said Tim, still elated. "Can we go for a walk?" At this Jethro barked in agreement, and snuffled in Tim's face. "Hehehe!" Tim giggled. "See, he wants to go!"

And so off they went.


	20. Chapter 20

_Yeah, I know I haven't updated in months. But, I have several chapters done… they're just not in order. Yeah… we'll see how it goes. I'll try to update as much as possible. Short chapter, but there are more to come._

Everything had been going amazingly in Tony and Tim's lives over the past month and a half. Tim was getting more exercise because Jethro always wanted to go for walks. Gradually, Tim had increased his walks (Tony always went with him of course), and now he walked around a mile every day.

Since that wasn't enough for the over-active German shepherd, Tony would also take Jethro on daily runs without Tim. But now, Tim had a new goal. He wanted to be able to run with his father and dog. Because Tim was such a hard-worker, Tony thought that despite the medical problems that plagued his child, eventually Tim would be able to run with them.

One Saturday afternoon, about a month before the end of school, Tony, Tim, and Jethro had just gotten in from a relaxing afternoon walk. After pulling off the light jacket his dad made him wear so he "wouldn't catch cold" (which Tim rolled his eyes to), Tim leaped onto the couch and turned on the TV.

"Let's watch a movie, dad!" he shouted.

"Alright, kiddo." Tony replied. Should we see if Uncle Jimbo wants to come over?"

"YEAH!" exclaimed Timmy.

Tony called Jimmy, but unfortunately he had one of his final exams coming up and needed to study. "Guess it's just you and me, bud." Tony said.

"Okey dokey." Said Timmy with a smile. "Let's watch Big Fat Liar!"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Again?"

"Yup, yup, yup!" Timmy said grinning.

"Haha. Whatever you want, kiddo." Said Tony as he approached the couch. "Scoot over."

Tim obliged, and when Tony sat down he curled up against his father's side.

About half way through the movie, Timmy looked thoughtfully at his father.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Tony said, with a soft smile.

"Dad…" Tim began.

"What, Timmy?" Tony asked as his son nervously hesitated.

"DoyoulikeAuntieZiva" Tim mumbled.

"Haha, what Tim? You're mumbling."

"Do you like Aunt Ziva?"

"Well of course I do, Tim. She is one of my closest friends."

"No, Dad. Not like that. I mean like… more than that. Kinda like love…"

"What makes you think that?" Tony asked more than a little astonished that his son would even ask that.

"The way you look at her." Tim said. "And the way you smile when she's around."

Tony grinned at his son. Of course Tim would be the one to pick up on the subtlest of hints. He was such a perceptive and precocious eight-year-old.

"Well, I do like her like that, Tim. But, your grandpa has a rule about team members dating. Rule number 12." Tony made a face. "I would never want to jeopardize our jobs. Plus, I don't know if she even likes me back like that."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Daad," he groaned. "She looks at you the same way you look at her."

Tony's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Does she really?"

"Yeeeeaaah!" Tim said looking up at his father. His boyish smile made his lightly freckled cheeks stand out. He swiped at his dirty blond hair, which was getting long and almost covered his piercing green eyes.

"Well," Tony huffed. "It does matter. Gibbs would never allow it."

Tim looked at his dad again. "Dad," he stated seriously. "If you really do like her, and if you talk to grandpa about it, I think he might let you date her."

Tony sighed. "You are too smart for words, Timmy boy. I'll think about it, alright?"

Tim looked resigned at his father's attitude. "Fine. Whatever."

Tony didn't sleep much that night. He hadn't even thought about dating since Tim had come into his life. Pretty much from day one, he had liked Ziva more than just a friend. Tim was right. It was time to act upon those feelings. Tomorrow after church, Tony would talk to Gibbs: man to man.


	21. Chapter 21

_Hey everyone! Thanks so much for your interest in my story! I love getting reviews! Anyways… Yes, there is going to be some Tiva now, but Tim and Tony's relationship is still the main focus of the story (So don't worry Alisa123!). I just wanted to change it up a bit. And don't worry angst/hurt/comfort fans. More of that to come soon enough._

It was the morning after Tony had made up his mind to talk to Gibbs. After church, he and Tim drove over to Gibbs' house. With a warning knock, Tony and Tim walked inside. "Grandpa!" Tim shouted, as he ran inside and hugged Gibbs.

"Hey, Little Man!" Gibbs said with his rare smile. "You guys eat lunch?"

"NO!" said Tim. "I'm starving!"

Gibbs chuckled. "Well I was just about to grill some hotdogs. I'll put on a couple extra."

Tony smiled. "Thanks, Boss. That sounds great."

After a tasty lunch, Gibbs leaned back in his chair and looked pointedly at Tony.

"Ermm," Tony squirmed, "There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Tim looked at his grandfather, "Can I watch TV?" he asked.

"Sure, go right ahead." Gibbs said.

Tim scampered off, giving his father and grandfather some privacy.

"Umm, Gibbs…" Tony started. "Errr, well. I wanted to talk to you about rule 12."

Gibbs' eyebrows rose slightly.

"Gibbs. I've liked Ziva for a long time, more than just a friend. And, well, Tim noticed."

Gibbs grinned. That kid would make a damn good investigator. He was so observant.

"He says that Ziva likes me back. And, I know that rule number 12 is a huge deal, but I-I really would like to ask her out. I promise, promise, promise, that I will take it slowly. I've matured, Boss."

Gibbs nodded. "I know you have, Dinozzo. And I've known how you feel about Ziva."

"Why didn't you say anything, Boss?" Tony exclaimed. "I hardly even knew!"

"Because I knew if you really cared for her, you'd come to me eventually." Gibbs said simply.

Tony mouth was agape. "Well, does that mean I have your permission?"

"Mhmm. But, I swear Tony, if you hurt her…"

"No way, Boss. Never. Besides!" Tony exalimed, "She can kill me a bunch of different ways with just office supplies."

"HA!" Gibbs barked. "She can take care of herself." He paused. Well, I suppose this is the part where I ask your intentions."

"Erm…" Tony started, surprised at the question. "Well, first I'm going to see how she feels about me really. We've been working together for so long, and I don't want to jeopardize that relationship. It's too important."

Gibbs nodded, "Okay, good. And…?"

"And then I want to get to know her better. Really better. I want to know her likes and dislikes. Her thoughts and feelings. I really think this could go far, Boss. I'm ready for a committed relationship."

Gibbs nodded again. "Alright then. But, I swear, if this affects you or her in the field, this relationship either ends, or one of you has to transfer. You know I don't want that."

Tony looked at Gibbs. "Of course, Boss."

"Okay. Good. You want to stay for awhile?"

"That'd be great, Gibbs."

"Kay, I'll find a movie," Gibbs said. As Gibbs started to walk out of the kitchen, he turned and gave Tony a headslap.

"Boss!" Tony exclaimed. "What was that for!"

"Breaking rule 12." Gibbs said.

Tony smiled. He was going to break one of Gibbs' oh-so-important rules and live to tell the tale.

_Okaaay, another short one. But, I'll keep going fast. Promise for a little while at least._


	22. Chapter 22

Tony was waiting for the perfect time to ask Ziva out. It was a Monday morning, and Ziva was never in a good mood on Monday mornings, so Tony figured he would just wait. He had time, right?

A shrill ring erupted through the bullpen, interrupting Tony's musing. "Gibbs." Came Gibbs' precedent greeting. "We have a case," barked Gbibs.

Tony and Ziva looked at him. "HEY!" Gibbs shouted. "Get your rears in gear! Ziva, gas the truck; Tony call Ducky and Jimmy."

"Rear in gear, boss?" Tony chuckled. "Where did you get that from?"

The head-slap wasn't unexpected. "Sorry, boss!" Tony yelped. "Rear in gear. Got it!"

The team arrived on scene rather quickly. Gibbs had let Ziva drive, and Jimmy did not get lost (for once).

Tony jumped out of the car. His face was rather green. Ziva's erratic driving always made him feel a little sick.

"Dinozzo!" Gibbs exclaimed. "You interview the witnesses.

"Alrighty, boss," Tony replied.

"Ziva, bag and tag. I've got photos."

Tony walked over to where a small group of people were standing sullenly. As Tony approached, out of the corner of his eye he spotted a glimpse of silver. "Everybody down, NOW!" he shouted pulling out his sig and taking off after the perp.

"NCIS Federal Agent!" Tony warned. "If you don't stop, I will be forced to shoot." From another direction a gunshot went off. Time seemed to slow down, and Tony knew what was happened; he was just powerless to stop anything. Then everything went black.

As Gibbs heard Tony yell for everyone to get down, he immediately took off running after him; Ziva followed, but Tony was already way ahead. They got to a clearing just in time to see Tony fall, a look of surprise on his face.

"Tony!" Gibbs cried, running up to him and kneeling down.

Ziva qyuckly looked around to make sure that they weren't in anymore present peril and then pulled out her phone to call an ambulance. Gibbs yanked off his NCIS jacket and pushed it on the bloody wound oozing from Tony's abdomen.

"Tony, Tony, stay with me son," Gibbs pleaded.

Tony's eyes fluttered.

"Anthony Dereck Dinozzo!" Gibbs said sternly, as Tony's eyes began to shut again. "You do not have my permission to faint."

"Not faint," Tony slurred, his voice full of pain, "we… uhhh. 'Nozzos don't faint." Tony's green eyes pooled.

"Tony you stay with me, you hear?" Gibbs said, pushing harder down on Tony's belly. Tony grunted in response. "Tim needs you Tony."

That seemed to elicit a reaction. "Timmy…" Tony groaned. "Boss…"

"Shhh," Gibbs soothed. "Save your breath."

A couple of EMTs rushed up to Tony. Gibbs helped the EMTs lift Tony onto the stretcher. Right away they slipped a mask on his face and started an IV.

"Uhhh," Tony whined as the needle was stuck into his skin.

Gibbs smiled a little at this. "Tony! You have a bullet in your stomach and you're whining at a little needle prick."

"Don't like needles, Boss," Tony mumbled. Ducky and Jimmy rushed up at this point.

"Go with him, will you Jimmy?" Gibbs asked.

"Of course, Agent Gibbs," Jimmy replied.

"BOSS!" Tony called as he tried to swat at the mask off his face.

"Stop it, Anthony!" Gibbs scolded, moving Tony's hand away from his face. "You're just as bad as Tim."

"Boss, someone needs to get Tim from school."

"Don't worry about it, Dinozzo," Gibbs said. "I'll take care of Tim. We'll get a different team over here to process the scene, and I'll be at the hospital with Tim in an hour. Then we'll catch this son of a bitch."

Half an hour later, Gibbs pulled up to Tim's school. It was only 1:00 in the afternoon, so he walked up to the main office's window to sign Tim out. The lady at the desk apparently missed the determined but distracted look in Gibbs' eyes. "You're not Tim's father," the woman explained. "I cannot allow you to take him out."

Gibbs angrily pulled out his badge. "Special Agent Gibbs," he growled. "Tim is my grandson, and his father was shot in the line of duty not even an hour ago. Let me see him. Now."

The woman went pale. "He's in room 106, sir," she said hurriedly.

Gibbs took off running. He slowed down as he got to room 106 and entered quietly.

"Can I help you?" asked a pretty young lady. Gibbs figured she was Tim's teacher.

"Grandpa?" Tim asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Grab your things, buddy," Gibbs said quietly. Tim complied as he nervously snatched his backpack.

"Is everything alright, sir?" the teacher inquired.

"No," Gibbs said.

Tim's head was trying to figure out all the reasons why his Grandpa would be coming to get him from school in the middle of the day. "Oh no," Tim thought all the sudden. "Grandpa!" he cried. "Is daddy okay?"

"C'mere kiddo," Gibbs said gently. Tim burst into tears as he rushed into his Grandpa's arms. "he's not dead, is he?" Tim wept.

"NO, no, no," Gibbs said fiercly. "Hey Timmy, you're dad got shot, but he'll be okay. He's tough as nails, yeah?"

Tim nodded. The other kids in the schoolroom looked at him sympathetically.

"I hope your dad gets better soon," said one girl.

Tim wiped his eyes and composed himself. "Thanks, Kathy," he said.

With that, Gibbs and Tim walked out.

Gibbs and Tim arrived at the hospital not long after and they went immediately to the front desk. "We're here for Anthony Dinozzo," Gibbs said.

"Are you his family?" a scary looking nurse asked.

"Yes." Gibbs replied without hesitation.

"He's in surgery right now," the nurse said. "If you come with me, I'll take you into the waiting room.

Zica, Ducky, Timmy, Abby, and even Vance were already in the waiting room. Tim walked over to Jimmy who was beckoning and say on his lap.

Abby hurried into Gibbs' arms. Her red-rimmed eyes showed she had been crying. Gibbs wrapped his arms around her and looked at Ziva.

Ziva was trying to keep on her tough face, but Gibbs could see her façade cracking as she sniffled a bit.

"C'mere," Gibbs summoned.

Ziva shuffled over and buried her facein Gibbs' shoulder.

Gibbs then looked at Ducky. "Do we know how he's doing?" Gibbs questioned.

"No, said Ducky," but I was just about to go find out. Excuse me."

_OoOoOoh. What now? =P _


	23. Chapter 23

_For __maggymoo21: haha. I know what you mean. I wasn't planning to update this morning, but here you go…_

It was the day after Tony got shot. Around 10:00 the night before, Tim was dragged away from the hospital by Gibbs, who took him to his house, made him a very late dinner and put him to bed. Jimmy had promised to stay with Tony and to call Tim every couple of hours to tell him how he was doing.

Tony hadn't woken up, but the doctors had said he would make a full recovery. As a precaution, they were keeping him in the ICU overnight.

Jimmy leaned over the bed to stare at Tony. Seeing his best friend laying in a hospital bed looking pale and vulnerable scared the living daylights out of Jimmy.

Tony was just beginning to wake up. As he attempted to crawl out of the darkness, he felt a painful twinge in his abdomen. Slowly he became more aware, and he heard the familiar beeping of a heart monitor, felt the oxygen cannula giving him some breathing help, and the uncomfortable pinchy feeling of two IVs in his arm.

"Tony?" he heard his best friend say.

"Mrrr," Tony groaned unhappily.

"Tony, open your eyes," Jimmy coaxed.

Tony squinted his eyes open. "Jim…"

"Hey there!" Jimmy said happily. "Welcome to the land of the living." He stuck his head out of the door and called to the nurse, "he's awake!"

A doctor came in a minute later. "Hello, Agent Dinozzo. How are we feeling today?"

"Like crap," Tony said.

The doctor shined a penlight in Tony's eyes. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does your stomach hurt?"

"Ughhh… 6," Tony winced. "Jimmy?"

"I'm right here, Tony."

"Is Tim here?"

"Tony, it's four in the morning. Gibbs took him to his house. He said he'll take care of him until you're back on your feet."

"Four in the morning?" Tony asked. "What are you still doing here… AAH!" the doctor had touched his stomach, and Tony writhed in pain. "What the hell!"

"It's alright," the doctor said. "Your wound is getting a little infected. I'm going to start you on some antibiotics, and the nurse is going to raise your morphine level. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah," Tony moaned, "When can I get out of here?"

Jimmy and the doctor rolled their eyes simultaneously. "About a week, Agent Dinozzo," the doctor said. A different doctor walked in. "Dr. Pitt," the other doctor nodded politely.

"Dr. Jones," Dr. Pitt nodded back. Then Brad looked at his friend. "Tony! Come on man, what the hell?"

"Uhhh," Tony whined. "Hurtsss."

Brad looked sympathetic. "Yeah, I know. The nurse should be in here to start more morphine any minute. Dr. Jones heard that I was your doctor when you had pneumonic plague. He wants me to do a quick check-up on your lungs. Then I figured I'd sit here for a little while with you, so Jimmy can get some rest." Brad nodded pointedly at Jimmy who looked tired.

"I'm okay." Jimmy said.

Brad rolled his eyes. It wasn't only the agents at NCIS who were as stubborn as mules, it was all their workers. "Well," he said. "At least get some shut eye here." With that, Brad walked over to Tony's bed.

"You feel like you're breathing alright?" Brad asked.

"Yeah," Tony said. "I'm alright."

Brad placed his stethoscope on Tony's chest. "Deep breath," he said. He listened for a minute then nodded. "Alright, you sound pretty good. I want the nasal cannula to stay on for a while though."

Tony made a face. "Whatever." He said.

Brad smirked. Tony made a great friend, but he was a terrible patient. A nurse walked in with two IV bags. One she switched out with another, and she turned up a little knob.

Tony immediately felt a rush of something into his system. Wow, he could hardly feel anything in his stomach now.

"Hey, Melinda," Brad said. "I'll start the other bag."

The nurse nodded. "Alright, Dr. Pitt. Thank you."

"Wait," said Tony as Brad walked over with a needle. "I gotta pee."

Brad chuckled. "No, you don't," he said, pulling down the blankets a little. Tony looked at the tube that was taped down his leg, and he knew it ran up into his 'manhood.'

"Aww, man," Tony said. "No!"

Brad laughed again. "You can't get up, Tony. The foley catheter will only stay in for a couple days. Now stop procrastinating and let me start these antibiotics."

Tony pouted. Brad probed at a vein just below Tony's elbow and then swiped at it with an alcohol swab. As he stuck the needle in, Tony yelped.

"Oh my gosh, Tony!" Brad exclaimed. "You are the biggest baby!" He finished connecting the tubing and plopped down on a chair next to the bed. About a minute later his pager beeped.

"Aah, darn," Dr. Pitt said making a face. "I gotta go. "I'll come see you later, kay Tony?"

"Alright, Brad." Tony said, as Dr. Pitt began to run out of the room toward his next patient. "Thanks."

"Mmm, yeah, I know. Hey, Jimmy…" Tony said.

"What's up man?" Jimmy, who hadn't heeded Dr. Pitt's 'get some rest advice,' asked.

"I've been thinking… I have a really dangerous job (as recent events attest to). And, well. I was wondering." Tony paused thoughtfully. "Will you be Tim's godfather?"

Jimmy looked surprised, but then he smiled. "I would be honored."

The morphine was really starting to kick in at that point, and Tony was starting to feel a bit loopy. "Well, then," he slurred a bit. "I dub you, Al Pacino!"*

_*From the movie, The Godfather._


	24. Chapter 24

Tim was sitting at Gibbs' kitchen table around 6:00 in the morning. Jimmy had just called to let them know Tony was awake and doing as well as could be expected.

Tim didn't really know what to think. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he sniffed every few minutes. How did they know his dad was going to be okay?

Gibbs was watching Tim carefully. He knew how upset Tim was, but he also knew it wasn't a good idea for the boy to be at the hospital with his father 24/7.

"Tim," Gibbs said. "After we eat some breakfast, you and I will go see your dad, alright?"

Tim nodded. He had hardly spoken since Gibbs had brought him home.

"Hey, buddy," Gibbs said kneeling next to his grandson. "I know you're mad that I made you come home with me, but your dad really truly is going to be okay. It's not good for you to be at the hospital all night with him."

"I'm not mad at you, Grandpa," Tim said seriously. "I'm just tired…" he hesitated. "What if he did die, Grandpa? I would miss him so much, and then what would happen to me?"

Gibbs decided this question warranted Tim's first headslap. Slap.

"Owwww! Grandpaaa. What was that for?" Tim whined.

"First of all, Timothy," Gibbs stated with a frown, "your dad is going to be fine. It's going to take a little while, but he will be back to new soon. Secondly, that was for worrying that no one would take care of you in the case of (God Forbid!) your father dying."

Tim nodded. "Sorry, Grandpa." He said.

Gibbs smiled and fondly ruffled his favorite kids hair. "Don't apologize. It's…"

"A sign of weakness… yeah, yeah, I know." Tim finished.

Gibbs grinned and grabbed a cereal box out of his cupboard. Checking the ingredients carefully, he deemed it okay for Tim to eat and set it down next to the boy. "Eat." He said. "Then we can go see your father."

An hour later, Gibbs and Tim were at the hospital. Gibbs was lost in thought as he and Tim sat next to a sleeping Tony. Vance had assigned Tony's case to Agent Handley's team. Gibbs knew Handley was very competent, but he knew the case was not going to be easy. A groan interrupted Gibbs' musing.

Tony opened his eyes.

"DADDY!" Tim shouted happily.

Tony looked at his exuberant son. He knew this had to be hard on him. "Hey, buddy boy!" he tried to match his son's excitement, but failed miserably.

"It's okay, Dad." Tim said, padding his father's hand. "Dr. Pitt and Dr. Jones say you'll be all better soon. They are going to move you to a different part of the hospital in a couple hours. And, don't worry. Imma take care of you. "

Tony smiled at his son's sweet sentiments. "Sounds good, Timmy."

Jimmy also smiled at his nephew's caring attitude. He was such an amazing kid. "Can I tell him now?" Jimmy asked.

Tony smirked. "Sure."

"Guess what, Timmy?" Jimmy said with a grin.

"What?" Timmy questioned, looking a tad confused.

"Your dad made me your official godfather yesterday!"

Timmy's face fell, and he looked at his dad. Then he ran out of the room.

Jimmy and Tony looked surprised. "Is there something going on here?" Jimmy asked.

Gibbs sighed. "He's really worried about his dad dying, Jimmy. It's not your fault. He's already lost one parent… Let me go talk to him." Gibbs ran out.

Jimmy sunk onto a chair. Tony looked at his best friend. "I'm sorry, Jim. I really didn't think he would feel that way. I'm just looking out for him, you know. I really appreciate you accepting the whole godfather thing. I know I kinda threw it at you."

Jimmy ran his hands through his hair. "You know I'd do anything for you two," Jimmy said. "I love Tim like he's my own already. But, that being said. If you die, I'll bring you back to life just to kill you myself."

Tony chuckled a bit. "Oohh, how… oh gosh. I can't think of a movie reference! This hospital totally sucks the life right out of me…" Then he sighed. "Aww, Tim."

Gibbs walked around for a while until he heard sniffling coming from a closet doorway. Opening it, he saw his grandson sitting in the corner with his head in his arms, which were resting on his knees.

"Aww, Tim," Gibbs said, putting his back against the wall and sitting next to his beloved grandson. Gibbs put his arms around Tim and pulled him close. "Shhh. Everything is alright. Shhh."

Tim buried his face in his grandfather's shoulder. "W-w-why d-do I need a g-godfather? You promised he would be fine!" Tim pulled away from Gibbs' embrace and went back to weeping into his arms.

Gibbs sighed, and sidled back over to the distraught child. "Tim…" he said. "Tim! Tim, stop it." He gently pulled Tim's face out of his arms and made him look at him. "I promised your father is going to be fine, and he is. You already know our jobs are dangerous. He is looking out for you."

Tim sniffled. "He can't die. I need him."

Gibbs rubbed circles on Tim's back. "I know, kiddo. He knows that too."

Tim wiped his face against his shirt. "I'm being such a baby!" he said.

Gibbs laughed!

"Naw," Gibbs said. "You're allowed to be upset."

Tim gave his grandfather a small smile. Then he grimaced. "Is Uncle Jimmy mad at me?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No. He was just a little confused as to why you were so upset. Just go in and tell him that you're glad he's your godfather, and then give him a hug."

Tim nodded. "Kay…" Then he paused. "I love you, grandpa." He said.

Gibbs looked surprised. It had been a long time since he had heard those words directed at him. Pulling Tim into his arms, he gave him a hug. "I love you too, Tim."

_Next up: Tony talks to Ziva. Oh yes. _


	25. Chapter 25

_This is probably way out of character, but I tried… Reviews make me really happy. Let me know how I'm doing! Give me ideas on what to write. More happy stuff? More hurt/comfort/angsty stuff? Torture Tim more? Torture Tony more? No torture? HELP!_

Two days later, Tony was really on the mend. He was a tough guy, and he always healed quickly.

Tim and Jimmy had gone out for a little godfather/godson bonding time. Jimmy wanted to get Tim away from the hospital for a little while.

Gibbs was sitting with Tony. His feet were up on the bed, and he was listening while Tony regaled him with a story from his frat days.

Abby and Ducky had just left, because they had some work to finish up. Abby had kissed Tony's cheek and promised to be back the next day. Ducky had patted Tony's hand and told him to 'be good for the doctors.' Tony was a pretty annoying patient… he asked when he was allowed to leave everytime a doctor or nurse entered the room.

Tony was in the middle of his story when Ziva walked in the room.

Ziva looked at her partner. He was supposedly on the mend, but she thought he looked terrible. He had bags under his eyes, he still had one of those silly oxygen tubes under his nose (she knew this was because doctors were always cautious with Tony's lungs since the Pneumonic Plague), he still had heart monitor electrodes on his chest, and he still had an IV in his arm.

Gibbs turned around to look at Ziva. "Hey Zee," he said. Then he looked pointedly at Tony. "I'm going to get some coffee. You two can talk."

Tony looked like a deer caught in headlights. He hadn't prepared anything to say to Ziva. He really didn't want to mess things up before he even had a chance to date her.

"Uhhh…" he said. "Hey Ziva. What's up?"

"Hello, Tony," Ziva replied. "How are you feeling?"

Tony grimaced. "Just peachy."

Ziva looked confused. "What does a fruit have to do with how you are feeling?"

This, of course, made Tony grin. One of the things he loved about Ziva was her less-than-adequate grasp of American idioms. "Never mind, Zee."

Ziva sighed. Tony looked at her. Really looked at her. Gosh, she was beautiful. She didn't wear much make-up; her face was full of natural, exotic splendor that gave him chills.

"You're really beautiful," Tony said quietly.

Ziva looked surprised. "Thank you." She said. Her cheeks had faint pink tint to them.

"You're blushing!" Tony exclaimed. "I didn't know you ever blushed."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Oh shush! Of course I blush. It is a natural human reaction."

"But, you're practically not human."

Ziva's eyes flashed a bit. "You are lucky you are in a hospital bed, Dinozzo. Else I would pound your head in."

"Ooh. Zee. I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Tony explained. "You're… you're… the most amazing girl ever."

Ziva eyebrows rose. "If I did not know better, I would think you are flirting with me," Ziva said suspiciously.

Tony hesitated. "I really like you, Ziva."

"Well, Tony. I like you too," Ziva said. "We have been friend for six years. I should hope we like each other."

Tony sighed. "Um, Ziva. I like you in a different sorta way."

Ziva looked surprised again. "What sort of way…?" she asked hesitantly.

"I think I might be in love with you," said Tony slowly. "I've wanted to tell you this for a while, but I was too scared. Well, now I know. Life is too short not to take chances."

Ziva made a sound. Tony could not tell what the sound was. He looked anxiously at the person he considered his soul mate. Her lack of an immediate answer caused him concerns. Tony was not a very patient person. Delays in anything made him restless.

Ziva's heart had leapt. She had felt strong feelings towards Tony for a while. She promised herself never to act upon those feelings, though because Tony could be so immature and he was such a playboy. But, her feelings had grown stronger since Tim had arrived. In just a few short months, Tony had grown up. But, she wondered, could he really ever commit to loving her and only her (not some other bimbo girl) fully?

"… Umm. I am not quite sure what I should say." Ziva admitted. "I have liked you too, but… well. I do not know."

Tony looked mildly disappointed, but he knew it would be harder than just telling her his feelings. "Ziva. I have talked to Gibbs. He knows how I feel, and he gave us his blessing. Reluctantly, but nonetheless, we have his blessing as long as we keep it out of work. Ziva, I have felt this way from pretty much the first time I met you. I have really bad commitment issues, though (as you know). But, I really, really do love you. I don't want just a fling. I really, truly want a commited, passionate relationship with you. I want to know YOU. I want to know what you like, what you dislike. I want to know about Isreal. I just want to know everything. I've never really felt this way about a girl before… the only person who I ever came even close to feeling kind of like this was Alex, Tim's mom."

Ziva nodded, but her eyes filled with tears.

Tony looked at her worriedly. "I'm so sorry, Ziva. Forget I ever said anything. I want to stay friends."

Ziva shook her head. "No, Tony. I really like you. You are right. We can make his work. I would very much like to try."

Tony looked surprised. Then his face split into a huge grin. "Wow! Really?... Well, then. Ziva, my dearest Ziva… will you go out with me? Will you be my girlfriend?"

Ziva smiled back. "Yes, dear Tony. I will."


	26. Chapter 26

Three days later, Tony was about to be let out of the hospital with the promise that he and Tim would stay at Gibbs' house so he could keep an eye on them. Ducky and Jimmy agreed to stop over once or twice a day to check up on their patient.

Gibbs entered Tony's hospital room pushing a wheelchair. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Hell yes!" Tony exclaimed.

"Watch your mouth, Anthony," Gibbs reprimanded as Tim walked into the room.

"Daddy!" Tim shouted. "Let's get outta here!"

"Haha!" Tony laughed. "I'm not the only one who hates hospitals."

"Everyone hates hospitals," Gibbs said gruffly. "Come on lets go. Into the chair."

Tony made a face. "I don't need the chair…" he whined.

"Either get in the chair, or I'll leave you here." Gibbs said simply.

"Urgh." Tony groaned as he slowly stepped out of bed and sat into the chair.

Dr. Pitt walked in. "Tony, my man!" he said with a smile.

"Oh, gosh Brad." Tony said. "I'm so ready to get out of here… no offense."

Brad grinned. "I know how much you hate hospitals, Tony." Brad ruffled Tim's hair. "Same with Tim, yeah buddy?"

Tim nodded profusely at his doctor, and repeated his father's response. "No offense."

"None taken," Bad said. "Tony, I just want to listen to your lungs one more time before you go."

Tony sighed dramatically. Gibbs scowled at his protégé. "Listen to Brad." Gibbs said.

Brad bent down and put his stethoscope against Tony chest. "Deep breaths." He said.

Tony took a couple deep breaths, and Brad smiled. "Sounds good, Tony. Alright. You can go."

Ziva walked in at that moment. She smiled at her new boyfriend. "Are we breaking out early?" she asked.

Gibbs looked annoyed. "You guys were planning to break out?"

Tony shook his head, effectively ignoring Gibbs, he addressed Ziva. "No, Zee. I actually don't need you to break me out. The docs are letting me go. Good behavior, I guess."

Brad laughed loudly. "That is the last reason we are letting you go. More like, you are terrorizing our poor nursing staff. You made one of the new ones cry yesterday."

Tony looked only a little ashamed. "Ehhh." He said. "They wouldn't let me have any pizza."

"Tony," Brad said sternly. "Didn't Dr. Jones tell you about the diet you are supposed to be on for the next week?"

Tony whimpered. "How am I supposed to get by on liquid foods only?"

Brad raised his eyebrows. "You really want to go there, huh Tony? Weeelll, you will get very constipated and you won't get 'anything past' if you don't stay on the liquid foo…"

"AAH AAH!" Tony cried. "Not in front of my girlfriend!" he exclaimed. "Not in front of my boss! Goodness gracious, not even in front of my son!"

"Ehh, Dinozzo," Gibbs said grinning wickedly. "You deserved it."

"You're silly, Daddy," Timmy said.

Ziva chuckled. "You are a drama king, Tony." She said.

"Don't you mean drama queen?" Tony asked.

This made everybody in the room laugh, and Tony turned bright red. "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" he exclaimed. "God, Boss. Just get me out of here already."

Gibbs decided to take mercy on his senior field agent. Dr. Pitt handed him the discharge papers, and Gibbs signed them with a flourish of his pen.

By the time Ziva, Gibbs, Tim, and Dinozzo got home, Dinozzo was exhausted. Tim was tired too, and he was sleeping against Tony's leg… carefully avoidant of his stomach of course. Tony was stroking Tim's hair.

Ziva looked into the backseat as they pulled into the driveway. Gibbs looked into his rearview mirror. "How you doing, Dinozzo?" he questioned.

"'M alright, Gibbs."

Gibbs got out of the car, and opened the door to the back seat. Tim looked up sleepily rubbing his eyes, and then lay back down on Tony's lap.

Gibbs smiled and picked the boy up. He was eight years old, but he was small enough to be five. It wasn't hard to carry him. Ziva grabbed Tony's hand and pulled him upright… he was a bit too big to be carried. Tony groaned.

The four of them traipsed into the house. Tony immediately sat on the couch and turned on the TV. Gibbs carried Tim up the stairs, and put him into what used to be Kelly's room. It was hard to let go, but after more than twenty years, Gibbs finally beginning to understand that holding onto Kelly and Shannon was just making him a bitter old man. Although he wasn't ready to get rid of their stuff yet, he had moved it up to the attic in order to make room for Tony and Tim.

Tim curled up on the bed and went right back to sleep. Gibbs gently pulled the blankets over him and kissed his head. Like Tony, even after only a few months, Gibbs could not imagine life without little Timmy. He made everyone at NCIS' world a little brighter.

Ziva was sitting next to Tony on the couch. Tony was inching his hand towards her hand as subtlety as he could. Ziva knew that he was doing this, but she waited patiently for him to take her hand. She wanted him to initiate contact. Suddenly, Tony's hand was there. He slipped it into Ziva's hand. And there they sat, in comfortable silence, holding hands.

Gibbs entered the room, and both Tony and Ziva hastily let go of each other's hands. Gibbs rolled his eyes. "I know you two are dating now. For goodness sakes, just as long as you keep it out of the office, I don't care if you two kids hold hands!"

Tony and Ziva looked at each other kind of dove-eyed. "Oh Gosh!" Gibbs exclaimed. "What the hell have I gotten myself into? Lovey dovey my ass!" he stomped out of the room.

Tony and Ziva chuckled.

An hour later, Tim came down from his nap. He looked at the couch where his father and Ziva were both sleeping. Tony was draped across Ziva's lap, in a position where his abdomen wouldn't hurt. Ziva's head was back against the couch. Both were snoring softly.

Gibbs came in behind Tim. "Hey," he whispered. "Look at what you got us into."

Tim smiled a little. "They're lonely, Grandpa. They'll be good for each other."

Gibbs stared at Tim. "You're too astute for eight. How do you know so much about love?"

Tim shrugged his shoulders. "My mom had a lot of boyfriends. None of them liked me. But, then there was this one, who my mom really liked. I could see it in her eyes. When they were together, she was always smiling. She never smiled that much with me. I knew he was good for her, even though we didn't get along. I dealt with him though. He left when she got cancer again. He couldn't deal with the ramification, I guess. Too much pressure or something. But, that's not how Dad and Aunt Ziva are. They've seen the best and the worst in each other, and they still smile more when they are around each other. Plus, Aunt Ziva actually likes me, and I like her. Lots."

Gibbs sighed. He hadn't heard much about Tim's past. Tony had never pushed Tim to talk about it, but the two of them knew Tim's younger years were much less than ideal. The kid was too mature for his eight years. I mean, what eight-year-old used the word ramifications in normal speech anyway!

Gibbs tousled Tim's hair. It was already sticking up from when he had been sleeping. "You, my little man, are a treasure. I don't know how anyone could dislike you."

Tim smiled. "I know, right?" he joked.

Again, Gibbs was impressed. Tim had never made jokes before. Tony was doing a great job with his son. He was slowly but surely coming out of his shell.

A knock on the door cut short Gibbs and Tim's conversation. Gibbs opened the door quickly, before the caller could wake-up the sleeping couple.

Jimmy, Ducky, and Abby waltzed in, and Gibbs quickly motioned for them to be quiet.

All three of the newcomers gaped at the scene on the couch.

"What's going on?" asked Abby.

Gibbs sighed. He supposed this was as good as a time as any to tell them about the new couple. "They're dating." He said, without devolving into further explanation.

Abby squealed and began jumping up and down. Jimmy joined her, and they held hands like two sorority sisters and jumped and squealed.

Ducky looked at Abby and Jimmy without much surprise. Jimmy sure was a strange boy, and Abby was… well, Abby was Abby. "Well, Jethro…" Ducky queried. "What about the 'no dating coworkers rule'?"

"I finally gave in." Gibbs said. "Tim has released my soft side. I am now a pathetic wimp."

"Hehehe!" Tim giggled.

Ducky bent down and looked Tim in the eye. "Well, Timothy," he asked. "How do you feel about this?"

"Good!" said Tim. "It'll be good."

Jimmy smiled at his godson. "Have you finished up your homework , Tim?" he questioned. "You have to go back to school tomorrow."

Tim scowled. "I wanna stay with daddy." He said.

Tony and Ziva had woken up due to all the squealing, and Abby barreled into Ziva squishing her into a huge bear hug. "YAYAYAY!" she screamed. "Congratulations!"

"Oof," Ziva said. "Thank you, Abby."

Abby was much calmer when she hugged Tony. She didn't want to hurt him more.

After Tony received his hug, he looked at his son. "Uncle Jimmy's right, bud. You gotta go back to school tomorrow. You've already missed this week. I don't want you missing more."

Jim smiled sympathetically. "Come on, Tim. I'll help you finish up your homework. I'm sure you don't need my help, but I'll at least keep you company."

Tim looked pleased at this prospect, and the two of them went up the stairs to the room Gibbs had transformed into Tim's.

The rest of the adults assembled themselves around the living-room. Gibbs put on his favorite movie, Air-Force One, and they proceeded to watch it. "Aah," sighed Tony, as he grabbed Ziva hand again. "This is good."

_REVIEW PLEASE! =)_


	27. Chapter 27

Two weeks after Tony was released from the hospital, he was back at work. Of course, he was only cleared for desk work, but Tony was just glad to get out of the house. Ziva had come by every day while Tony was recovering, and the two of them would sit on the couch and talk for hours. Tony had never known some of the things Ziva told him about herself. He was amazed at the things they had in common. Both Tony and Ziva loved classic movies. Alfred Hitchcock was a favorite of both of them.

Sometimes, Tim would hang out with them when he was finished with his homework and the three of them, along with Gibbs, would play games. Often, Jimmy, Abby, and Ducky would join. Once even Fornell came over. Unfortunately, the Vance family was out of town, but they promised when they got back, they would stop over for a game night.

Gibbs really liked having Tim and Tony stay with him. He enjoyed the company, and when he needed it both Tony and Tim gave him his space. Sometimes, Tim would come sit at the bottom of the basement steps while Gibbs worked on his boat, and he would read aloud to Gibbs. A couple times, Tony came and helped Gibbs sand.

One night, just Tim and Ziva were playing Scrabble. It came down to the final moments in the game when Tim laughed. "You have the Q, but no U!" he exclaimed.

"Hey!" Ziva pouted. "You cheated. You looked at my tiles."

"No!" Timmy said. "I just used the process of elimination. There are no tiles left in the bag, and all four of the letters U have been used, but no Q. Since I don't have the Q, it means you must have it."

Ziva scowled, but slowly her scowl became a smirk as she triumphantly placed the Q in the corner of two of the letter I, and on a triple letter score. "31 plus 31!" she grinned. "62 points! I win."

Tim looked at her in surprise. "Qi! Good one! The force that the Chinese believe is inherent in all things, right?"

Ziva looked impressed at her nephew's innate and vast grasp of the English language. "Wow, Timmy," she said. "That is the exact dictionary definition. How did you know?"

"I read the dictionary when I was sick one time," Tim stated. "I remember the words I found interesting."

Ziva looked even more impressed. Tony walked into the room at that point. "Isn't he amazing?" Tony asked, kissing the top of his son's head. "Look! The Boss is letting me eat toast. I'm eating something solid! MWUHAHAHA!"

Ziva cracked up. "Congratulations," she said, kissing Tony's cheek. "I am so proud."

Tony smiled. "You should be. It's been almost a week and a half. The doctor says I can even start desk duty on Monday."

Ziva and Tim both smiled. "Coolio!" said Tim.

"Yes," said Ziva. "haha! Coolio!"

Another three weeks later, and everything was back to normal. Ziva and Tony's budding relationship kept getting better and better. Tony and Tim were back at home, and everyone was happy.

One fine Thursday afternoon, the MCRT were all in the squad room when Jimmy came up.

"Hey, guys," said the curly-haired young man.

Hey Jimbo, Hello Jimmy, Hi Palmer, and Hey Uncle Jimmy resounded around the bullpen.

Jim sat himself down on the edge of Tony's desk. Tim was sitting at the extra desk on the left side of the bullpen across from Gibbs' desk. This desk had been deemed his.

"What's up, Jim?" Tony asked.

"Aah, Doctor Mallard sent me up to tell you that lieutenant Hamson's death was definitely not an accident. Also, his TOD (time of death) was probably closer to 2000 hours, and not 2200 like we estimated before. Apparently, he had a fairly high fever at the time of his death."

"Thanks, Palmer," Gibbs said. "Yah, here that gang? We have a case."

Tony whooped. He was finally allowed back into the field, and he had been itching for a case.

"That's not exactly an appropriate response, Dinozzo." Gibbs said.

"Err, sorry Boss." Tony replied. "Won't happen again."

Jimmy looked around the bullpen.

"Can I help you, Palmer?" Gibbs asked.

"Do you have any water?" Jimmy questioned rather impatiently.

Gibbs looked at him and grabbed a bottle of water from underneath his desk. He always kept his the area underneath his desk stocked with water, and his people knew that they were always welcome to it.

Quickly, Jimmy gulped down the whole water bottle.

Tony gave his best friend a weird look. "Thirsty, Jim?" he asked.

"Mmm, yeah," said Jimmy as he went walked over to Gibbs' desk, got on his knees and grabbed another three bottles.

In the next five minutes, Jimmy had completely finished off the three water bottles he had grabbed, along with two more; bring his total up to six. Tony, Tim, Gibbs, and Ziva were all staring at him in concern.

Jimmy was currently leaning against Tony's desk for support. "Thirsty…" he moaned.

"Ziva," Gibbs ordered quickly. "Get Ducky. Tell him something is wrong with Jimmy."

Ziva immediately complied.

Jimmy swayed a bit.

"Aww, no you don't," said Gibbs, grasping Jimmy shoulders before he could fall. He expertly helped Jimmy to the floor and stuck the young medical student's head between his legs. "Deep breaths, Jimmy," Gibbs said gently.

Tony and Tim were hovering over Gibbs shoulder staring down at Jimmy. Tim crouched down and touched his Uncle's face. "Uncle Jimmy?" he said. "Please wake up and be better." Tim turned his face and looked up at his dad. "Is he okay, Daddy?" Timmy asked nervously.

"I don't know…" Tony replied concerned. "Uncle Ducky will know what's wrong."

Ducky chose that moment to enter the bullpen, an alarmed look crossed over his face as he gazed at his assistant. Jimmy looked up, and Ducky took note of how pale the man's face was. He was almost as white as Christmas morning snow.

"Thirsty," Jimmy repeated sluggishly.

Ducky bent down and padded the pocket of Jimmy's jeans where he knew his glucose meter was kept. "Let's get your blood sugar, Mr. Palmer," Ducky said soothingly. He took Jimmy's hand and poked one of his fingers. Squeezing a little bit of the blood out of the spot, he took Jimmy's blood sugar. "Aah, Mr. Palmer. It seems your blood sugar is quite high."

Jimmy eyes were glazed over, and he had a bewildered look on his face. "We should get him to a hospital, Jethro."

Jimmy reacted to that statement… violently. "Noo!" he shouted. "No hospital." He pushed Ducky out of the way. Because his assistant would never act in such a way were he actually coherent, Ducky looked quite astonished at his assistant's response.

Tony bent down next to his best friend. "Shush, Jim. Ducky'll fix you up here." Looking at Ducky, Tony said, "Jimmy's terrified of hospitals, Duck. He has been since he was a little kid and was first diagnosed with diabetes."

"He is becoming a doctor!" Gibbs exclaimed. "How can he be terrified of hospitals?"

"He's becoming a medical examiner, Boss," Tony explained. "No hospitals. Just morgues."

Gibbs nodded in understanding, and Ducky fetched the medical bag that was next to him. "Okay, Mr. Palmer," Ducky said. "I will fix you up here. But, if you get any worse, we're calling an ambulance. Is that clear?"

Jimmy looked at Ducky, as Ducky took an insulin pen out of his bag and rolled it between his hands for twenty seconds. Then Ducky lifted Jimmy's shirt just over his belly button and swiped an area with an alcohol swab. Pinching the skin, Ducky stuck the needle in Jimmy's belly and pushed down the plunger.

Jimmy continued staring at Ducky detachedly. "Anthony and Jethro," Ducky said. "I need you to help me get Jimmy downstairs. I want to put him on some IV fluids and test his blood sugar again." ****

The two men hoisted Jimmy up, and Jimmy went along with them. His eyes were becoming clearer as he began to focus. "Juice?" Jimmy groaned.

Ziva rushed off to the vending machines in order to fufill Jimmy's request.

An hour later, Jimmy looked much better. "Is it okay if I take the rest of the day off, Doctor Mallard?" Jimmy asked sheepishly.

Ducky frowned, "Of course, dear boy. But, I do not want you going home alone."

"He's coming home with me," Gibbs cut in.

"A-aah, Agent Gibbs," Jimmy stuttered. "That's n-not really necessary…" Jimmy was and always had been unsure of his place with the tough ex-marine.

"Did I give you a choice?" Gibbs questioned.

"N-n-no. I suppose not," stammered Jimmy.

Gibbs patted Jimmy's shoulder. "Come along, son," he said. "The case can wait for tomorrow. Family is more important."

Jimmy blushed as a warm feeling spread through his body. Gibbs really did think of him as he thought of Tony! Wow!

"Jethro," Ducky said. "You need to keep an eye on him. Jimmy, I want you to test your blood every three hours."

"Aww, Doctor Mallard," Jimmy said. "I have mild diabetes. I don't need to check it that often."

Ducky glared at his assistant. "I am your doctor. You will do as I say. There is nothing mild about diabetes. You will check your blood sugar every three hours, or else… well Jethro will think of something."

Jimmy's eyes went wide. "Every three hours! Got it, Doctor Mallard!"

Ducky and Gibbs both smiled. It was good to know that they could still scare their charges into obeying them when need be.

_**** Dear, readers. I really don't know anything about diabetes. I hope I do not have this all wrong. I tried to look it up on Wikipedia, but it is kind of confusing. All I really got out of it is diabetes sucks. A lot. (which I already knew). Someone wanted me to put more Jimmy in this story, so here it is. If you want more of a specific character, likely I will torture him. LOL! If this chapter is completely off, please let me know. I do not mean to offend any diabetics or anyone. _


	28. Chapter 28

_Sooo. I went to my allergist yesterday. Learned my lung function was down to 61%. Ugh. After they gave me meds though, it went up 37%. So, no worries. Just new meds. Lol. It made me think about my story…_

The next day, Jimmy and Gibbs were at work at Gibbs' normal time... really early. Ziva arrived just a few moments later. Dinozzo walked in just before the required time, as usual. Although it was Friday, Tim had the day off since it was Superintendant's day at his school. He walked in next to his father.

"Uncle Jimmy!" Tim exclaimed, running over to him. "You're okay! Grandpa didn't even kill you!"

Gibbs looked surprised by this comment, and Tony turned red. "Dinozzo!" Gibbs growled. "Why do you put these ideas in his head?"

Tony yelped as a solid hand came into contact with his head. "I can't help it, Boss!"

Jimmy smiled as his nephew embraced his waist. He bent down in order to hug Tim back.

"Daddy and I got you a present," Tim said. He held up a bracelet that looked just like the one he had on his left arm. "It's a medical alert bracelet just like mine! Except it says diabetes on it, not asthma and allergy stuff. And it says James Palmer. Not Timothy Dinozzo." Tim rambled on.

Jimmy smiled at his best friend and his godson's thoughtfulness. "Thank you guys," Jimmy said. He stuck out his left hand. "Will you put it on for me?"

Tim nodded enthusiastically. "Now we match!" he said smiling as he clipped the bracelet on Jimmy's hand.

Gibbs had gone up to the director's office, so everyone was talking in a hurry before he came back down and they had to get to work. When Gibbs walked back down the stairs, he saw his whole team crowded around the bullpen. "Just as well," he thought. "Hey everyone," he began, "I have had the whole team, including Ducky, Jimmy, and Abby taken off the roster for the entire weekend. Agent May's team will be taking over our case. We are going to have a team bonding weekend."

Whoops and cheers went around the bullpen.

"What are we doing, Boss?" Tony asked.

"Fishing trip." Gibbs said. "All of you go home. Pack enough clothes for two or three nights. I have been planning to do a trip like this for a couple weeks; I already borrowed several tents. I figure now that we've had all these stupid medical things, it would be a good time to have a de-stressing weekend."

Everyone was grinning wildly. "This sounds awesome, Boss!" Tony exclaimed.

Tim looked intrigued. "I've never been fishing or camping before." He said excitedly.

"Me neither, Tim." Jimmy said. He looked just as excited as Tim did.

"You have never gone camping, Jimmy?" Ziva questioned.

Jimmy shook his head. "Naw. My dad left my mom when I was six. I never had a strong male role model."

Gibbs continued. "Jimmy, Tony, and Tim will be in one tent. Ducky and I will be in another, and Abby and Ziva will be in the last tent. I invited the Vance family, but they can't go. I also called Fornell. He said he'll call me back…" the phone rang sharply. "Gibbs." Gibbs answered.

"Jethro," came the other voice. "I can come."

"Alright." Gibbs said with a trace of a smile. "Meet us at NCIS by 1:00."

"I'll be there." Fornell hung up.

"Okay," said Gibbs. "Tobias will be in a tent with Ducky and me. We'll…" Gibbs stated. "Get going. Be back here at 1:00 sharp. We're leaving by 1:15."

Everyone spread off. "Anthony," an accented voice came.

"What's up, Duck?" asked Tony.

"Just wanted to make sure you bring all of Timothy's meds. Also, make sure you bring some extra Benadryl. He should be fine, but the grass and tree pollens are out; so taking a little extra precaution would be advised."

Tony looked worried. "Is he okay to go?"

"Yes. He should be fine. I just want you to be prepared if his asthma or allergies start acting up."

"Alright, Ducky. I'll bring everything."

"Good man," said Ducky. "Now you better hurry. Jethro I am sure believes he is being lenient by giving us only a couple hours to get ready, but he was a marine… I sure am not very good at getting ready on a moments notice. I remember this one time…"

Timmy rushed up. "Daddy, daddy, daddy!" he jumped up breathlessly. "Can we bring Jett with us?"

Jethro the dog's name had been shortened to Jett, just because Tony had thought it a tad weird to have a dog with the same name as his boss. At least Abby hadn't named the dog Leroy Jethro!

"That's a good idea, Tim." Tony said. "Jett would love to come with us!"

"YAY!" Timmy exclaimed.

Gibbs scowled. "You're bringing that damn dog?" he asked.

Tim frowned. "Oh, please can we grandpa? Please?"

Gibbs sighed. He could never say no to Tim's puppy eyes. "Well, fine." He said. "But the dog rides in the back with you."

Timmy grasped his grandfather's legs in a hug. "You're the best grandpa!" he said. "This is going to be so much fun!"

_Sorry it's so short. I'll have the results of their camping trip posted soon. I've only been camping once in my life (and I was like 8), and it rained the whole time… yuck! So, anyways… if you guys could give me some ideas, it would be much appreciated!_


	29. Chapter 29

_Haha! Cookie62—Imagine FOUR restless kids (three boys and me) and a whining father and an angry mother… and a leaking tent. Chyeah. Needless to say, we never went again. ; )_

By 6:00 everyone was settled in at the campsite. The tents were up, a fire had been built, and everyone was sitting around the fire with hotdogs on sticks.

"It's so primitive!" exclaimed Abby—who was wearing huge army boots and a skull t-shirt. Not exactly camping-type clothes... "I love it!"

Tim grinned as he bit into his perfectly cooked hot dog. "Yum yum!" he said.

"Shit!" Tony swore as his third hotdog caught on fire. He stood up quickly, dropping the hotdog, and stamped out the flames.

Tim cracked up. "Want me to cook one for you, daddy?" he questioned.

Ziva, who was sitting next to Tony, also cracked up. "Yes, Tony," she said. "Do you want your eight-year-old son to make you the perfect hotdog, before you ruin your fourth one?"

Tony scowled at his girlfriend jokingly. "Just because you've been trained by Mossad doesn't mean you can make the perfect hotdog!"

Ziva smiled, as she bit into hers. "I disagree. Want a taste?"

Tony tried Ziva's hotdog. "Mmmm," he said. "Fine you win. Yes, Timmy. I would love it if you would make me a hotdog."

As dinner was completed, Gibbs grabbed Tim's hand. "Wanna go for a walk, kiddo?" he asked.

"Yeah!" said Tim. "Can Jett come?"

Jett had been patiently lying down as close to the fire as the heat would allow. He looked up as he heard his name and barked contentedly.

"Sure." Said Jett's namesake, Gibbs.

Jett trotted over to Tim who affectionately scratched his ear. "Good boy," said Tim. "Okay, Grandpa. Lead the way!"

"Can I come, Jethro?" Tobias Fornell asked.

"What do you say, Tim?" Gibbs asked.

"Of course, Uncle Toby!" Tim shouted. "Come on!"

"Tiiim!" Tony called. "Do you have your inhaler with you?"

"Yeah…" said Tim, taking the device out of his pocket and staring at it with intense hatred.

"Use it before you take a walk, please." Tony said. "Remember, Brad said to always, always use your inhaler before any type of exercise."

Tim scowled. "Fine." He said grumpily, sticking the mechanism in his mouth and inhaling deeply.

"Alrighty," Gibbs said. "Come on. Let's go."

Fornell picked up a big stick from the ground and threw it. Jethro (the dog) dashed happily after it. "Oh, Gibbs," said Fornell with a wicked grin. "I was throwing that for you. Go fetch, you have some competition."

Gibbs gave one of his patented stare downs to Fornell, but Fornell just looked amused.

"You don't scare me with those baby blues," he smirked.

Tim giggled gleefully and high-fived Uncle Toby's hand. "I think we pulled a joke on Agent tough-guy Gibbs." Fornell chuckled.

Gibbs rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Tobias and he had been friends for years, even though they never really showed it in the office setting. The trio marched along contentedly, along with Jett who sniffed every tree and chased every squirrel along the way.

Gibbs pointed out different types of trees and recited names for Tim. He even bent down and picked some mint up. "This makes some really good tea," he said. "Ducky and Ziva'll love it." ***

Tim soaked up every piece of knowledge the older men bestowed upon him. Soon he was pointing out trees and birds and plants and naming them for his counterparts.

"Smart kid." Fornell said affably "It's a wonder Dinutso had you."

Tim grinned. "Daddy is really smart," Tim said. "He just doesn't like to show it. Last week, Dad taught me about the differences between mitosis and meiosis. My teacher mentioned something about it during school, and so I asked dad when I got home. After dad explained how it worked, he took me to the library so I could get some biology books. It was awesome!"

Both Gibbs and Fornell looked mildly disgusted. "That sounds… err. Oh, gosh, kid." Fornell said wrinkling his nose. "That sounds like the most boring thing ever."

Tim laughed. "It's actually really cool, but yeah. Dad is really smart!"

About half an hour later, Fornell and Gibbs could tell Tim was flagging. "You want a piggy-back ride, kiddo?" Fornell asked.

Tim gratefully accepted, and the three headed back to campsite, with Jett following disappointedly behind them.

The next day bright and early, Dinozzo and Gibbs took the canoe out for a spin. "Let's see if we can catch a fish before anyone else even gets up!" Tony exclaimed.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Ziva's already up," Gibbs said. "She and I already went for a six mile run."

"It's six in the morning!" Tony moaned. "Six miles! Already?"

Gibbs smiled. "Mmhm. But let's catch some fish anyway."

Ten minutes later, Gibbs and Tony had rowed their way out fairly far. Tony was full of nervous energy. He hadn't taken his morning run, and his restless nature didn't like sitting down for so long.

"Dinozzo!" Gibbs growled. "Stop your squirming and throw your line in."

"Let's go back, boss," Tony scowled. "I don't have the patience for this."

"No kidding," Gibbs sighed. "No. We're catching a fish. Then we'll go back."

"I gotta pee, boss!" Tony whined.

Gibbs groaned. "Take a leak in the river, Dinozzo. The fish won't mind."

Tony stood up uncertainly. The canoe rocked treacherously with Tony's movement, then suddenly… timber! The canoe went over, and both Tony and Gibbs were unceremoniously dumped into the cold lake. ***

"Dinozzo!" Gibbs spat, as his head came above the water. "I'm going to kill you!"

Tony gulped as he treaded water. "Oh, shit." He said. "I knew this was a bad idea."

Gibbs swam over and slapped the back of Tony's head. Hard.

"I guess I deserved that…" said Tony with a grimace.

The two men attempted to overturn the canoe, with little success. "We're going to have to swim it back," Gibbs said, squinting his eyes as he looked to shore.

Ziva was standing on the dock laughing harder than she had ever laughed. It wasn't every day you got to see your crazy boyfriend dump your hard-ass boss into the lake.

Jimmy walked over to Ziva, sleepily rubbing his eyes. As he stuck his glasses on he asked, "What's going on?"

Ziva pointed as she gasped for breath. Jimmy looked and started cracking up along with Ziva. "Oh gosh," Jimmy said. "I gotta grab the camera."

He rushed back to the campsite. Quickly, he began snapping shots from every possible angle.

Soon Tony and Gibbs were back on the dock. Tony lay on the ground panting from the strenuous exercise. Gibbs just glared at his protégé, and stomoed back to the campsite were the rest of the team were slowly coming out of their tents.

"Goodness gracious, Jethro," Ducky said. "Whatever happened to you?"

Gibbs glared some more. "Don't EVER take Dinozzo on a canoe with you." He said in way of explanation. "Ever."

Tobias' face was red as unbridled laughter came from his mouth. "Oh, Lord." He hooted. "I knew camping with this team was going to be great!"

Abby joined in with Fornell snickering. "This is better than… it's better than CafPow! I didn't think anything could be better than CafPow!" Abby laughed.

Tim was laughing so hard he had to sit on the ground.

Gibbs came out of his tent, where he had finished changing into dry clothes. "Come on, Tim." Gibbs said. "You, Jimmy, and I will go catch some breakfast. Tony isn't allowed near the canoes, ever again."

Gibbs wasn't really all that mad at Dinozzo, but he was serious when he said he wasn't letting Dinozzo near the canoes again. That man was serious trouble sometimes.

As Jimmy, Timmy, and Gibbs walked back out to the dock, Tony began apologizing profusely.

"Don't apologize," Gibbs said gruffly. "It's a sign of weakness."

Then he decided to take pity on his senior field agent. He patted Tony's head gently. "Go change, son. I don't want you to catch cold."

Tony looked surprised. His biological father (it made Tony pissed every time he even thought of his father… especially after what he did to Tim. But, he knew he didn't have to worry too much. Dinozzo Sr. was in jail, for the long run, but anyways… Dinozzo Sr.) had been emotionally distant, and if his son did anything wrong, he wouldn't talk to Tony for days. Tony knew Gibbs was tough on him most of the time, but the paternal pride and love always showed through when Tony needed it. It was because of Gibbs that Tony was such a good father to Tim.

Jim, Timmy, and Gibbs hopped into a different drier canoe. "Okay." Said Jimmy. "I've never done this before…"

"It's okay." Gibbs said. "It's not that hard."

As they hopped into the boat, Gibbs handed Jimmy a paddle. "Row." He ordered.

As they got out a little farther, Gibbs instructed Tim to put on a life jacket. "You never know," Gibbs said with the slightest hint of a twitching mouth. "We just might tip over."

_*** Thanks to reigningspirit and Siltrana for the ideas. Magnis… you're next chapter. =)_


	30. Chapter 30

_Meegeesgeek: I'm so glad you have kept up with the story! I know exactly what you mean by college life being crazily busy. I'm a freshman taking 19 credits. It's pretty ridiculous. Lol. Everyone else: thanks so much for your reviews! I have tried to incorporate everyone's ideas into the camping trip. If you have ideas for other parts of the story too… just let me know!_

Jimmy, Gibbs, and Tim had been out on the lake for about half an hour when Tim's line took a dip. "Oh, Oh!" shouted Gibbs. "Oh! I think I got something!"

Gibbs smiled at the boy's exhilarated shouting. "Calm down there, Tim. Reel it in slowly. It looks like a big one!"

"Oooh!" Jimmy flinched. "I think I've got one too!"

"Same thing, Jim," Gibbs said. "Reel it in slowly."

Then Gibbs' line dipped. "Guess we hit a school of fish," Gibbs said as he began to reel in his line.

The boys reeled their lines in slowly. Soon each one came up with a fish. Tim's fish was huge! It was flopping and squirming. "Lookit Grandpa!" Tim said. "Lookit."

Gibbs glanced over at Tim's fish as he unhooked his own. "Wow, Tim. You caught a beautiful bass. That'll be really yummy." ***

Timmy looked mildly disappointed. "We're going to eat it?" he asked.

"Haha!" Gibbs laughed. "Of course, bud. What did you think we were going to do?"

"Mmm. I don't know if I can eat them," Tim said unhappily. "I'm allergic to shellfish, but I don't know if can eat any fish."

Gibbs looked alarmed. "Shit!" he exclaimed. "You're feeling alright now, right Tim?"

"Yeah," Tim said, "I'm fine."

"Do you have your epi-pen, Timmy?" Jimmy asked.

"Mhmm." Tim nodded. "I brought it in case of the bees…"

"Good." Jimmy replied. "Don't touch the fish, just in case. We'll talk to Doctor Mallard when we get back."

Gibbs grabbed Tim's line, unhooked the fish and stuck it in a cooler. Jimmy followed suit with his own fish and then snatched some hand sanitizer out of the bottom storage container in the canoe. He squeezed some onto his own hands, poured it onto Tim hands and arms, and then handed it to Gibbs.

"Put it on your hands and arms, just in case Agent Gibbs. We need to try to reduce any risk of anaphylactic shock. I don't know if touching fish would cause Tim to have it… I assume you have never eaten fish, right Tim?"

Tim shook his head. "No. I had a reaction once to shrimp. It was a really bad one, though. I was in the hospital for three weeks."

"Okay, well that's still good." Said Jimmy. "Just because you are allergic to shrimp or shellfish doesn't mean you're allergic to fish. We should still take these precautions though, because you are really sensitive to things you are allergic to."

Jimmy turned Tim's wrist over and took his pulse. "82 beats per minute. Okay, that's normal. Good. You make sure you tell me if you feel different at all, kay?"

"Yup." Said Tim. "I'm sorry, I really didn't think about it before we came out on the canoe."

Gibbs looked at his grandson. "Neither did any of us, Tim. No worries. Anyways, the rest of us can still enjoy your fish. It's almost 12 pounds!"

Tim smiled. "Yah!"

The boys got back to shore within fifteen minutes. Tim was fine, but Gibbs ordered him to go talk to Ducky anyway.

"Uncle Ducky?" Tim asked timidly.

"Hello, Timothy!" Ducky said with a smile. He was lying on a lawn chair with his nose buried in a book, but he looked up as Tim approached.

"Am I 'llergic to fish?" Tim questioned.

Ducky looked at his nephew. "I don't think so, Timothy. You have never eaten it, right?"

"No. Never." Tim replied.

"Well an allergy to shellfish does not necessitate an allergy to fish. You can try it… I want to be with you though. Just in case. I highly doubt you're allergic to it though."

Tim whooped. "YAY!" he shouted. "Thanks Uncle Ducky!"

Running off, Tim jumped up and down next to Gibbs. "Grandpa! I can eat fish!"

"Awesome, bud!" Gibbs said. "I'll show you how to cook it over the fire later tonight, how's that sound?"

"Sweet!" Tim said. "Thanks Grandpa."

"Tim, Gibbs, Fornell, Ducky!" Abby shouted. "Tony, Ziva, Jimmy and I are going to play ultimate Frisbee. Come play with us, we need more players."

The group split into two different teams. It was Team Ziva, Tony, Fornell and Ducky versus Team Gibbs, Jimmy, Tim, and Abby. Jett the dog sat on the sideline barking every time the Frisbee went into the air.

The first goal was made by Ziva as she made a great grab when Tony threw the Frisbee into the endzone. Tony ran up to his girlfriend, spun her around and placed a solid kiss on her mouth.

Ziva threw her head back and laughed. "You are too competitive, Dinozzo," she said. Then she kissed him back.

Team Ziva, Tony, Fornell, and Ducky ended up winning eight points to six points. Jett had gotten restless on the sidelines and had started chasing his tail towards the end of the game. Abby had tripped over a stick as she was watching Jett look so silly. Once she had told everyone she was okay, everyone cracked up. Abby looked really silly sprawled out on the ground.

The team headed back to the campsite out of breath from so much laughing. After making a bonfire, Gibbs cleaned the fish. Tim thought that was nasty and wouldn't watch, although he heartily agreed to help cook.

Gibbs patiently showed Tim which type of herbs and spices to put on the fish and then helped him place the filets in a pan.***

When they were cooked, everyone really enjoyed the fish, especially Tim who had never had it before.

Jett got the leftovers. Tim was pretty sure that Jett liked the fish most. He giggled. Tim had the best family ever!

_***Thanks to Magnis for the ideas._


	31. Chapter 31

The camping trip with the team had been a huge success. Everyone had an amazing experience and their de-stressing time helped them work better. Also, things between Ziva and Tony had been going fantastically. Their relationship could not be better. They spent time together almost every day, and Tim loved having Ziva around more often. She was turning into more of a mother figure than his own mom had been.

Unfortunately, things could not stay perfect.

One night, around 2:00 am, Timmy snuck into Tony's room. Of course, Jethro was padding along close behind. "Daddy?" Tim whispered. Tony rolled over and flipped the nightstand light on. "What's up, Timmy?" he mumbled sleepily.

"I had a bad dream," Tim murmured.

"Aah," Tony sighed, and then padded the bed. "Come on up, kiddo. You can sleep with me." Tim crawled onto the bed and began to cough. "You feeling okay, bud?" Tony asked, now wide awake due to the nasty wheezing sounds coming from his son's chest. He hadn't noticed them before because he was still half asleep.

"I feel kinda sick," Tim rasped.

Tony gently placed his hand on Tim's forehead. "Damnit, Tim!" he exclaimed. "You're burning up." Leaping out of bed, Tony went into the bathroom and grabbed an ear thermometer and an ice pack out of the freezer. "Timmy boy," he said as he walked back into his room and stuck the thermometer in his son's ear, "did you use your inhaler yet?"

Tim nodded weakly. His cheeks were flushed. "You still sound really wheezy, bud. Maybe we should go to the hospital." Tony said.

"Nooo, Daddy." Tim moaned. The thermometer beeped.

"101.2." Tony said. "Fine, we won't go to the hospital right now, but remember how Ducky prescribed you prednisone shots in case you needed one if your inhaler wasn't working well enough?" Tony questioned.

"Mhmm," Tim groaned.

"I'm going to give you one."

"Kay," Tim said with a frown, knowing it was either the shot or the hospital. Kicking at the blankets, Tim hacked into his hands. Jethro laid his head on the bed next to Tim and whined.

Tony walked into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. The syringes were premeasured, so when he got back in the room, he gently rolled up the sleeve on Tim's pajamas and wiped a small area on his arm with an alcohol swab.

Tony was mildly nervous about giving his son a shot. Ducky had shown him how to use the needles, and he had practiced a couple times on an orange, but he hadn't ever stuck a human being with a needle. He shook his head clear of the thoughts. Tony wasn't about to call Ducky at this time of night, and Tim didn't want to go to the hospital. He would just have to stick him by himself.

Popping the cap off the needle head, Tony jabbed the needle into Tim's arm, making sure to push hard enough to go through the skin and into the muscle like Ducky had instructed. As he pushed down the plunger on the needle, Tim whimpered unhappily.

"Sorry, kiddo," Tony said pulling the needle out and sticking a cotton swab and tape on the injection site. "All done."

After he had stuck the needle in the used needles box, he gently took Tim's arm and put his two fingers on his wrist in order to take his pulse. "Aww, baby boy," Tony sighed after counting, "118 beats per minute. That's pretty fast,"

Tim's eyes were slowly closing as Tony pulled the blankets over his son's now shivering body. "Nu uh, buddy. Not yet. Take these," Tony ordered, handing Tim some chewable baby aspirins.

Tony laid the ice pack on Timmy's head, and went into the kitchen to grab him a glass of water. When he got back in his room, Tim was curled up in a ball, fast asleep. Jethro was lying on the floor at the foot of the bed, snoring. Tony shook his head; that dog sure was loud. But, thankfully Tim's wheezing had minimized, so Tony crawled into bed, flicked off the light, and pull his son close. Boy, he sure hoped Timmy would be feeling better tomorrow.

A couple hours later, around 5:00, Tony awoke with a start. Tim was sitting up in bed wheezing and coughing. Tears were running down his cheeks, which were flaming red. Tony rubbed circles on his son's back as he stuck the ear thermometer in his ear. "104.8. Damn! Hospital time." Tony picked up the phone and dialed 911. "I need an ambulance," he stated as calmly as possible. Inside his heart was racing. "My son is asthmatic, and he is really sick. Please hurry…" Tony rattled off his address.

As he slipped a sweatshirt over his head, Tony dialed Gibbs. "Yeah, Gibbs," came a semi-groggy voice. "Boss, it's Tony. Tim is really sick. I just called an ambulance and we're going to be on our way to Bethesda any minute."

Tony could hear the sirens getting closer, which was good because Tim's breathing was getting worse by the minute. Tim's head was on Tony's lap; Tony could feel the little body's heat through his pants. "I'll meet you there," Gibbs barked, and he hung up.

Jethro the dog was sitting up at attention as a sharp knock came on the door. Tony rushed to the entrance and swung it open and two paramedics carrying a compact stretcher stepped inside. "This way, this way," Tony exclaimed, beckoning to his bedroom.

Tim was sitting up against the pillows. He was hardly conscious. A paramedic with the nametag Joe lifted Tim easily onto the stretcher as the other, Jonathan, slipped an oxygen mask onto Tim's face. Tim was so small that he only covered half of the length of the stretcher.

As the group got into the hall, one of Tony's next-door neighbors came out of his apartment wrapped in a bathrobe. "Tony, hey man. Is he okay?"

"No," said Tony anxiously looking at his son. "We're taking him to the hospital. Hey, my apartment door is open. Will you take care of Jethro for me?"

"Sure thing." Rob, the neighbor said. "I hope he gets better soon."

Tony thanked Rob, and followed the paramedics who were quickly and efficiently carrying Tim out to the ambulance, whose lights were flashing bright into the dark neighborhood. Tony clambered in the ambulance behind Tim. "You said he's asthmatic?" Joe talked as he started an IV in Tim's arm. "Yes." Tony said, as he clasped Tim's other hand.

Tony could hear Jonathan, the other paramedic, talking to people at Bethesda across the radio as he drove. "I have an eight-year-old male, Timothy Dinozzo, with severe asthma and 105 fever coming in. ETA (estimated time of arrival) 10 minutes. Please have personnel standing by. Father requests Dr. Brad Pitt be paged."

"Roger that." Came the reply.

"Is he allergic to anything?" Joe asked as he adjusted the oxygen mask over Tim's face.

"Yeah," Tony said pointing to Tim's medical alert bracelet. "Pretty much everything. Peanuts, bees, latex, and shellfish will make him go into anaphylactic shock. He's allergic to penicillin and naproxen, and he has the 'normal' seasonal allergies."

Joe nodded. "What medications is he taking?"

"Erm… Corticosteroids… Advair 250/50. Maxair as needed. Allergy shots. Singulair. Prednisone shots as needed. I gave him one around 2:00 this morning. And of course he carries his epi-pen everywhere."

Joe nodded as he began sticking electrodes to Tim's chest and hooking them up to the heart monitor. Tim was mumbling incoherently as the fever ravaged his body. He was also shivering uncontrollably; Tony was scared as heck.

Joe took Tim's temperature again. "104.9." Joe said. "We need to get this fever down right now or there's a high possibility of Tim having a seizure." Grabbing multiple crack-to-cool ice packs, Joe ordered Tony to take off Tim's shirt as gently as possible. Tony complied, and Joe began putting ice packs onto Tim's stomach. Tim began to cry, and his still harsh breathing fogged up the mask.

The radio crackled to life again. "Personnel are ready and standing by. Dr Pitt was on call and he is waiting. What's your ETA?"

"I can see Bethesda now." Jonathan replied quickly into the radio, as the ambulance raced up to the parking lot entrance. "Pulling into the lot."

"Good thing!" Joe exclaimed as monitors began going off. "He's seizing."

_*Sigh.* There's something wrong with me. I just can't help torturing Timmy. Review?_


	32. Chapter 32

Joe injected some type of solution into Tim's IV as Tim began to convulse. The shaking stopped immediately, and the ambulance pulled up to the emergency entrance. Doctors and nurses rushed at the ambulance and yanked open the doors.

Brad was standing to the side talking anxiously to Gibbs. As soon as they saw Tony and Tim they hurried to the stretcher. An on-call doctor was talking soothingly to Tim because his O2 stats had begun to drop, and Tim was freaking out as he struggled to breathe.

Tony followed behind, his face scrunched with tense lines of worry. Brad ran ahead to begin to work on Tim. Gibbs placed a gentle hand on Tony's shoulder in order to guide him to the waiting room. The doctors wouldn't allow non-medical personnel into the emergency room.

"Hey Tony," Gibbs said. "Tim will be alright. He's a fighter." Tony sank down into a chair and placed his head into his hands. "He was sick around 2 this morning, but it wasn't too bad then. I should have taken him in. I know how easily things can turn for the worse with him."

"Tony, you couldn't have known."

"I'm his father!" Tony exclaimed angrily. "I should be able to see telltale signs or something!" At that point Tony's broke down and wept into his hands. "G-g-Gibbs. It h-hurts me ss-so much to see T-T-Timmy in pain. How am I going to deal with this for the rest of his life?"

To Gibbs' credit, he didn't freak out at the sight of a grown man sobbing. Instead he rubbed Tony's back and started talking, "Tony. EY! Anthony Dinozzo! You listen to me… You have been a father for only a couple months, and damnit Tony. No one could do any better than you are with Tim. You have been thrown through a hoop and yet again you manage to come out on top. You are a wonderful father. Anyone who has a child with medical problems like Tim does, and a high-stress job like you do would say the same. Matter of fact, someone would have to be an idiot to not think you are an amazing father. Maybe even super-dad!"

Tony smiled waterily, sniffed, and wiped his face onto his sleeve. He couldn't believe how much he had just heard Gibbs talk… the functioning mute! "Sorry," he mumbled. "I don't mean to be such a baby."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. He recently recalled a different Dinozzo (little Timmy, of course) saying the same thing. "Crying about your son does not make you a baby. Now go into the bathroom and wash up. I'm going to call the rest of the team and let them know what is going on."

"No," said Tony. "Let them sleep. We can call them when we know more."

Gibbs nodded in assent. "Alright. After you wash up, I'll go grab us some of that shitty hospital coffee."

"Shitty hospital coffee is better than no coffee," Tony stated.

"You know it," Gibbs replied.

Tony and Gibbs were still apprehensively pacing the waiting room an hour after Tim had been brought to the hospital. Tony was a nervous wreck, and Gibbs was terrifying nurses who dared to even glance at them. Just as Gibbs was about to terrorize another poor nurse, Dr. Pitt walked in and swiped his eyes tiredly.

"Hey guys," he said, "Tim is stable right now. He has a really severe case of pneumonia. As you know he was seizing when he got here because his fever was really high. We've lowered it, and he's awake and asking for you. We have him in the Pediatric ICU mostly as a precaution, but his condition could worsen so we are going to keep in the ICU for a couple days at least..."

"Can I see him now?" Tony interrupted. "Is he going to be okay? Why did it come on so quickly?"

"Come on," said Brad. "I'll take you up to him; we'll talk on the way."

_So when I was Tim's age I got a nasty case of pneumonia and it came on pretty much the same way as I put it in the story. I walked down to my parents' room after having a bad dream (I still remember it!) and I was coughing and coughing and I had a high fever and whatnot. Anyways, I don't remember much after that. I slept and wheezed for about three weeks…_


	33. Chapter 33

Brad patiently explained Tim's condition to Tony and Gibbs. "…. And it's very serious. Especially for a kid with asthma like his. Tim's a fighter though, you know that." He stopped outside of Tim's room and grabbed three surgical masks. Handing one to each Gibbs and Tony he instructed them to put it on.

"They're to minimize the risk of any more infections," Brad said. "His immune system is going to have to fight hard enough without added risks. And I know all of you NCIS people are going to want to see him. Everyone must wear one at all times in his room. Also, hands must be washed up to the elbows before entering. We are attempting to reduce the threat of germs to Tim… Oh, and if anyone is feeling sick in the least bit, they are not to go near Tim. These safety measures are very important! Got it?"

Tony looked overwhelmed. Gibbs' normally passive face even registered shock.

"Why didn't we have to do this when Tim was here last time?" Gibbs asked.

"Tim wasn't fighting infection when he was here last time," Brad said. "Anaphylactic shock doesn't affect the immune system in the way pneumonia does."

Tony and Gibbs nodded in understanding, and all three of the men bent over the huge sink in order to scrub their hands.

Entering the room, Gibbs stared at his grandson. He had hoped that Tim wouldn't have to go through anything like this again for a long time. It had only been a couple months since he was in this position last.

Tim was propped up against some pillows. He only had plaid boxers protecting his modesty, and there were no blankets because the doctors wanted to keep his fever down. Tim looked warily at his father and grandfather. He had a rebreather oxygen mask over his face. The rebreather oxygen mask looked like a normal oxygen mask, except it had a bag attached to the bottom of it near the tubing. Rebreather oxygen masks allowed for higher doses of oxygen to be delivered to a patient. Tony knew all this. In the beginning when Timmy first showed up, Tony did all the research he could on asthma and oxygen therapy. Tony wasn't a scholarly person by any means, but he would do anything for his son.

Tony puffed out his cheeks in frustration and anxiety as he looked his son over from head to toe. On his bare chest were the electrodes, which were responsible for the ever-present beep, beep, beep of the heart monitor.

Tony sighed and continued his inspection. IVs… fluids, antibiotics, and Tony didn't know what else. There were more tubes, but Tony stopped scrutinizing them. Instead he pulled up a chair and grabbed Tim's hand. "Dammit, Timothy Avery Dinozzo. I swear. You gotta stop scaring me like this."

Tim looked at his father. "I didn't wanna come to the hospital," he grumbled.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Tim, your temperature was so high you had a seizure, and you are currently in the ICU. Are you seriously going to tell me you didn't need to come to the hospital?"

Tim scowled and pulled the mask off his face. "I'm fine," he shouted. The shouting of course aggravated his lungs, and he began to cough.

Brad stepped over to the bed, grabbed the oxygen mask from Tim's hands, and placed it back over his face. "That stays on," he said forcefully. "And your father's right. You did need to come here; pneumonia isn't something to play around with, Tim…." He paused and then said playfully, "Plus, you're my favorite patient, Timmy. I missed you! Although I remember specifically telling you I didn't want to see you or Tony back here as a patient for a while."

"You can't have missed me too much. I saw you last week for a check-up," Tim protested.

Brad sat at the end of Tim's bad and patted his patient's leg. "I know kiddo. I'm sorry you have to deal with this."

Timmy sighed. "Not your fault, Dr. Pitt. I'm sorry, I shouldn't complain so much."

Dr. Pitt shook his head. The kid was only 8, yet he was incredibly mature. "You have every right not to be happy about being back in the hospital. Now how about you get some sleep."

Timmy nodded. "Okay…"

As Tim's eyes began to close, Tony scratched at the surgical mask that covered his nose and mouth and growled. "How do you guys stand these things all the time?" Tony asked Brad.

"Ehh," Brad said. "You'll get used to it."

Tony paused. "Yeah," he said exhaling softly. "That's what I'm afraid of."

_I like reviews. How soon should Timmy get better? Idk what to write about anymore… so torturing Tim fits the bill. You could give me ideas though… =)_


	34. Chapter 34

Tim hadn't improved much over the past couple days. He was still in the pediatric ICU, and his fever was still quite high. A nurse came in every half hour to check on his vital signs, and Dr. Pitt came to check in on Tim several times a day.

Tony and Ziva had been sitting with Tim for the past couple of hours. Each was engaged in their own activity; Tony was going through case files because he had lots of work to catch up on, and it helped keep him busy. Everyone once and a while he would scratch at the surgical mask he was wearing. Every time he adjusted the surgical mask, Ziva would smirk at him. She was glad it didn't bother her very much to wear the mask over her face.

Tim was restless and since he still had a very high fever, he wasn't really aware of his surroundings. Most of the time Tim was sleeping fitfully and mumbling incoherent words under the oxygen mask that covered his nose and mouth.

Ziva looked at Tony after her puzzle was finished. "I am going to get some tea. Do you want a cup of coffee?"

Tony nodded gratefully, "That would be great, Zee. Thanks."

After Ziva had left, Tony sighed and flipped the pages in his case report absentmindedly. About fifteen minutes later, Tony heard struggling coming from Tim's bed. The heart monitor started beeping more rapidly.

"Mommy," Tim called faintly.

Tony felt his heart sink. This feverish Tim didn't realize his mother was no longer able to take care of him.

"Mommy," Tim cried again.

"Hey, buddy. Daddy's here."" said Tony gently, putting his hand on Tim's head. It was really hot.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" Tim screamed. Kicking off the sheet that covered him, he slapped Tony's hands away and began pulling agitatedly at the monitors and tubes attacked to his body. Alarms began to go off, and a nurse rushed in. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"He calling for his mom," said Tony standing up and brushing his hand through his hair anxiously. "She passed away several months ago."

"Tim," the nurse said soothingly, "Can you calm down for me sweetheart?"

"No, Mommy!" Tim wept. "Mommy." His dejected cries echoed through the room.

Dr. Pitt rushed in. "I was paged," he exclaimed. He looked at Tim and heard his yelling for mom.

"We'll have to sedate him before he hurts himself," Dr. Pitt said as he opened a drawer and pulled out a needle.

Ziva had just walked in and heard Dr. Pitt's remark. "Wait!" She said as she approached Tim's bed and handed off two cups of hot liquid to Tony. "Timothy… Hey little one." Tim eyes opened a little bit, and he stared at her with a dazed expression. Ziva took this opportunity to lower the railing on Tim's bed and sit on it.

Slowly, Ziva began to stroke Tim's hair as she hummed a Hebrew lullaby. She lay back against the bed and tenderly wrapped her arms around Tim's body. Tim quieted immediately and nestled himself against Ziva's side. "Mama," he whispered.

Jimmy, Gibbs, and Ducky had assembled themselves outside the door. Together with Tony, they stared in amazement at the soft side of Ziva. Tony had been seeing more of Ziva's personality and feelings, but he had never seen her this vulnerable and nice.

"Thank you," Tony mouthed to Ziva, as Timmy began to close his eyes. Ziva smiled at her boyfriend, as he grabbed her hand and kissed it.

Tim didn't even move as Dr. Pitt and a nurse began to stick the electrodes back on Tim's chest. He didn't move as they readjusted the oxygen mask that he had batted away in his fevered frenzy. Tim flinched as Dr. Pitt began to reinsert the two IVs, but he didn't squirm or cry like he usually did. Contented rhythmic breaths came from his chest, as he slowly fell into a peaceful slumber for the first time in several days.

_YAY? Or no… Torture Tim more? Or no?_


	35. Chapter 35

That night, Gibbs had insisted Tony go home and get some rest. Tony had been sleeping in a chair next to Tim's bed for the past couple of days, and Gibbs doubted it was good for his back. At first, Tony protested, but Gibbs promised to stay the whole night with Tim and call if anything changed.

When Tony woke up the next morning, he groaned. His head pounded and his stomach was churning. He wearily pulled himself to the bathroom and turned on the shower. A wave of dizziness hit, and he sunk down onto the toilet.

Suddenly a thought popped into his head… "If I'm sick, I can't go near Tim… shit!" he exclaimed.

Jethro the dog looked up at Tony's loud outburst and whined. Rob the neighbor had been taking good care of him, but the poor dog was very unhappy without Tim around. When Tony had come home the night before, Jethro had excitedly greeted him. But, when he didn't see Tim, he gave Tony's hand one final lick and then slunk off sullenly down the hallway in order to wallow in doggy self-pity.

Wearily, Tony went back into his bedroom to grab some clothes when a strong urge overpowered his senses. Running back to the bathroom, Tony threw up violently into the sink. Then he grabbed a thermometer and took his temperature.

"101.6. Damnit!" Tony slammed his hand against the wall angrily. He needed to be at the hospital rallying around his son, instead his body decided to give out on him.

Tony picked up his cell-phone. "Gibbs," came the answer at the other end after two rings.

"Gibbs, it's Tony. How's Tim?" he asked.

"He's the same." Gibbs said. Tony sounded awful… "Did you get some sleep like I told you to?"

"Umm, Gibbs." Tony started… "I think I have the flu."

"The flu! Gibbs exclaimed.

"I have a fever and I'm… I'm…" Tony ran back into the bathroom and proceeded to throw up again. "Pehh," he spat. "I'm throwing up."

"Tony," Gibbs said. "You know you can't come near Tim then, right?"

"Boss," Tony moaned. "I know. What am I supposed to do though? Tim needs me."

"Anthony, listen to me. Tim is going to be fine, just like all the other times we've had this conversation. I promise I will take exceptional care of him. You just take care of yourself, so when you are better you can help Tim. I'll call Ziva and have her send over some chicken soup…"

At the thought of food, Tony stomach churned again. "Urggh," he whined. "Going to be sick." Again Tony vomited into the sink.

"Damn Dinozzo. Go lay down!" said Gibbs.

An hour later a tentative knock erupted on Tony's front door, then the sound of a key entering the lock. Ziva walked into Tony's apartment. "Hey sweet cheeks," she said softly, as she saw Tony's unresponsive form curled up on the couch.

Tony looked up at the sound of his girlfriend's voice. "Zee…" he called weakly. "How's Tim?"

Ziva loved how, despite the fact that Dinozzo was quite ill himself, he still thought of his son primarily.

"Tim's the same, Tony," Ziva said as she went into the kitchen and wet a cloth. She then went and wiped the sweat off of Tony's face.

"Cold…" Tony sighed.

"Shhh, it is okay, Tony. I will take care of you."

"You don't have to do this, Ziva," Tony said.

"What are girlfriends for?" Ziva asked good-naturedly.

"You're amazing," Tony said, touching Ziva's hand lightly. "You know, I think I'm in love with you… I've never felt this way about a woman before."

Ziva's eyes opened wide. Her family had never been open about their feelings, so this was a whole new territory for the trained Mossad officer. "I feel the same way, Tony," she said, kissing his forehead. "We shall talk about this when you are feeling better, yes?"

"Mmm," Tony nodded. "Sounds good."

Back at the hospital, Tim's perception was finally coming around. He felt incredibly sick and gross.

Opening his eyes, Tim squinted at the harsh hospital lighting. His chest felt like someone had dropped a tote bag full of bricks on it.

Gibbs noticed Tim's green eyes peering at him. "Hey there, Tim," Gibbs said gently. "Welcome back."

"How long have I been out?" Tim's voice was raspy from lack of use; it was also muffled by the seemingly ever-present oxygen mask.

"Almost four full days." Gibbs replied. He pressed the call-button for the doctor. Dr. Pitt had wanted to be paged the moment Tim woke up.

About two minutes later, Dr. Pitt walked into the room. Tim looked at him wearily.

"Hey, Tim," Brad said quietly. Just by the look in Tim's eyes, Brad could tell Tim felt awful. Walking up to the bed, Brad pushed down the side-rails, and stuck his stethoscope against Tim's chest.

Tim shivered. The metal felt cold on his back, and the thin sheet that covered him wasn't helping keep him warm.

"Sorry, Bud," said Brad. "I know it's cold. Just take a couple of breaths for me. Breathe as deeply as you can."

Tim breathed in and winced. Just taking shallow breaths hurt so much. He couldn't even bring himself to breathe in deeply.

"Hurts to breathe?" Brad asked.

Tim nodded and a couple tears rolled down his still fever-pink cheeks. "I wanna go home." He mumbled.

Brad patted Tim's shoulder. "I know, kid. I know. I'll be right back, kay?"

Brad beckoned to Gibbs who followed the doctor right outside the room. They stood for a moment just looking in at Tim.

"He's really sick, Gibbs," Brad said pursing his lips. "The fact that the pneumonia isn't improving at all worries me… He's having trouble breathing despite the rebreather mask. Where is Tony?"

Gibbs sighed heavily. "Tony has the flu. He's pissed, but he's staying away from Tim."

Brad gave a discouraged nod. "Under no circumstances is he to come near Tim then. Gibbs, you're going to have to be Tim's medical proxy if Tony can't be here. After Tony, you and Jimmy are listed as his next-of-kin."

Gibbs nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could tell there was something Brad didn't want to tell him. "And…?"

"We need to intubate Tim. His O2 stats are below 75%, he needs to be put on a ventilator… at least for the night."

Gibbs normally prided himself on keeping a reign on his emotions. This was not one of those times. Quickly, Gibbs walked down the hall so Tim could not see him "DAMNIT!" Gibbs cursed loudly, spinning around and punching the wall. His fist connected, and the pain reverberated down his arm.

Dr. Pitt grabbed Gibbs' arm before he could do himself more harm. "This isn't going to help Tim," Brad said with a reasonable amount of anger in his voice. He cared for Tim too, more than just a doctor-patient relationship. He had spent time with the boy and his father outside of the hospital, and he vastly enjoyed their company. Being a doctor, he had barely anytime for friends, but Tony was one of his best friends, and he knew Tony felt similarly about him.

"You're right, you're right." Gibbs said. Brad took Gibbs' wrist gently into his hands.

"Damnit Gibbs." Brad said. "You broke it. Luckily, it was your left hand. Why'd you use your left?"

"I've punched walls a few times too many," Gibbs grunted.

Brad nodded. He would never understand the difficulties of being a member of the MCRT, but the frustrations of his chosen career had gotten to him one too many times also.

"I'll splint it up for you," Brad said. "But, first we need to take care of Tim."

"Do you need me to sign anything?" Gibbs asked.

"No. Verbal consent is fine," Brad replied. "But, Gibbs. We can't sedate him, because his lungs are too weak. We need someone in there with him keeping him calm."

"Poor kid," Gibbs exhaled, biting his lip. "Is this the only option?"

Brad nodded sadly. "Without the ventilator," Brad started, "he'd probably crash during the night. We are going to start him on broad-spectrum antibiotics and more prednisone. It will help."

Gibbs clenched his teeth; he had never felt so helpless.

"Let's go." Said Gibbs.

The pair walked back into the room. Gibbs noticed the blue tint on Tim's lips and nails.

"Hey Tim," said Brad. "We're going to give you some more help breathing."

"Hurts," moaned Tim with tear-filled eyes.

"I know it does, Timmy. I'm going to put a tube down your throat. It's going to be uncomfortable, but it's going to breathe for you."

Tim's lower lip trembled. "Where's daddy?"

Gibbs grasped his grandson's hand with the hand that wasn't broken. "Your dad has a stomach bug, Timmy. He's not allowed to come here for a little while, but I'm not going to leave. I promise."

Tim coughed weakly. Brad took a needle out of a drawer in the crash cart that was next to Tim's bed. "Okay, Tim," Brad addressed his patient. "I'm going to put something called a paralytic in your IV. For one minute it's going to make you not be able to move. I'm going to put the tube down your throat really quickly, but you'll feel it. It won't hurt, but it's going to be uncomfortable. Understand?"

Tim nodded, but his face registered fear. Gibbs stroked his grandson's hair soothingly, and began mumbling comforting words as Brad placed gloves (non-latex of course) on his hands.

Quickly and efficiently, Brad removed the pillow from under Tim's head. He injected the needle into the IV port and took the mask off Tim's face.

Gibbs watched and continued mumbling reassuring words to Tim. He watched as Brad put a metal thing in Tim's mouth and stuck a tube down his throat. He watched as Brad attached a balloon thing to the end of the tube and started squeezing it rhythmically. Then Brad removed the balloon thingy and connected the ventilator machine to the tube. He taped the tube on Tim's mouth as Tim's eyes began to blink. The paralytic had worn off. Tim looked scared, panicked.

Feebly, Tim moved his hand up against his face. Brad shook his head as his patient gagged slightly on the tube. "No Timmy. Don't try to breathe. The machine is doing that for you now." He said.

Gibbs knew Tim didn't like to be talked to like a child, but he figured this was an exception to that. "I know it's yucky, Tim," Gibbs said tenderly. "I'll tell you a story. You know how I used to be in the marines…" Gibbs went on as Tim's green eyes became less panicked and began to blink heavily. "That's it little man. Go to sleep; I'll be here when you wake up. I got you."

_Okay. So I wanted to get delve deeper into little Tim and Gibbs' relationship and Gibbs' paternal side... which meant getting Tony out of the picture for a little bit since Gibbs doesn't like to 'step on Tony's toes with Tim.' Don't worry. Tim will start getting better really soon. Then I'll stop torturing my characters for a while. _

_Also, I'm going to add some more Tiva. What do you guys think about a little Abby/Jimmy relationship? Obviously it wouldn't be the main focus, just a little side thing. I really haven't put much of either of them into my story… you guys' choice. Let me know if there is anything you would like to see in the story._


	36. Chapter 36

_Alisa… thank you for your review. =) I am NOT a slash fan, but I do like Gibbs/Tony dad/son relationship, and that is what I tried to put in my story. Like I said previously, Tiva is not a huge part of the story, at least not for know. It's kind of just a side note because I wanted to see how it could pan out (I might eventually go more in depth, but for now… it's not a huge thing). Also, I wanted to give Tim more of a mother figure since he doesn't have that in his life anymore. _

The next day, Tim's O2 stats had gone up a ton. All Tim wanted to do was get the stupid tube out of his mouth. Brad had come in, smiled and said if Tim's stats stayed like that for the next couple of hours, he would extubate him.

Gibbs hand had been splinted and wrapped. Brad was going to put a cast on it once the swelling went down.

Gibbs had decided not to tell Tony that Tim had to be intubated at the moment. He knew this would just cause Tony to be extremely upset and want to come see his son even more. So, Gibbs had sat with Tim the whole night, and when the boy would wake up and panic as the urge to breathe overcame him, Gibbs would gently soothe Tim and rub his head.

A few hours later, Ducky and Jimmy walked into the room. Jimmy carried a cup of coffee, and he handed it to Gibbs kindly. Gibbs gave a rare smile to his second surrogate son, "Thank you," he said.

Ducky looked at Tim who was sleeping again, albeit restlessly. "Oh, poor lad," said Ducky. "They had to intubate, Jethro?" the older man asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Dr. Pitt came in a little while ago though; he said Tim can probably get the tube out in a couple hours."

"Aah, yes. I assume his oxygen stats are looking better than before." Ducky stated as he studied the monitors attached to Tim's body. He patted the sleeping boy's hand softly. "It'll be okay, Timothy. You will be feeling better soon."

"Agent Gibbs!" Jimmy exclaimed as he noticed Gibbs' bulkily wrapped hand, "Whatever happened?"

"An encounter with the wall," Gibbs shrugged.

"You broke your hand!" Jimmy cried.

"And…?"

"Uhh, uhh," Jimmy stammered. "I d-don't know."

Gibbs smirked.

Back at Tony and Tim's apartment, Ziva was cooking breakfast for herself. Tony was still throwing up, and his fever was hovering around 101. He hadn't eaten anything the day before because he was too busy puking his guts up, so Ziva hadn't eaten much either. She was starving. Abby was going to come over to Tony's apartment with some Pepto Bismo. Ziva hoped it would help.

After Ziva ate, she walked back into Tony's bedroom where he was laying on the bed.

"Hey Zee," Tony greeted softly.

"Hello my little hairy butt," Ziva said jokingly.

Tony smiled at their inside joke. Once, in a moment of *cough* extreme infantile behavior, he had asked her to compare his and Jimmy's butts. Ziva had grinned and rated Jimmy butt a four, but Tony's only a three (out of five). Tony of course had gone off on a rant, but Ziva had later told him that she had taken off two points for excessive hair.

Tony's ruminations were interrupted by his stomach churning again. Jumping up, Tony ran to the bathroom and proceeded, yet again, to empty the contents into the sink. "Ooohhh," he moaned.

Ziva looked sympathetic, and after Tony brushed his teeth, she pet his face gently for a few moments.

"I need to call Gibbs," Tony said, as his head lay in Ziva's lap. "I need to know how Timmy's doing."

Ziva sighed. "I just called, Gibbs." She said. "Listen to everything I say, before you say anything, okay?"

Tony looked uneasy. "What's wrong?"

"Last night, Dr. Pitt had to put Tim on a ventilator because Tim's oxygen saturation levels dropped dramatically."

Tony sat up sharply and put his hand to his head as a wave of dizziness hit him.

"Stop it, Tony," Ziva said. "You promised to listen. Tim is doing much better today. They are going to remove the ventilator in a couple of hours. Gibbs is taking good care of him."

Tony lay slowly back down on the bed. "Damnit, Tim," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Ziva looked sad to as she caressed her distressed boyfriend's cheek. "He is going to be okay, Tony. Really, he is."

Back at the hospital, Dr. Pitt stopped in to see how his favorite patient was doing again. "He's still sleeping?" Brad asked.

Gibbs affirmed. "Yeah. He woke up a couple times. Kinda freaked out."

"That's normal," Dr. Pitt replied. "The sensation of not being able to breathe is very overpowering when he first wakes up." Doctor Pitt removed the stethoscope from around his neck and placed it lightly on Tim's chest. "His stats are staying pretty stable, but I don't want to remove the ventilator just yet. Maybe around six or seven this evening. I'll put a cast on your hand then too."

Gibbs wrinkled his nose childishly. "My hand is fine."

Brad rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you. You NCIS people are the worst patients. None of the doctors here like taking care of any of you guys. They ask me how I can stand it…"

Gibbs cocked his head, contemplating the assessment of NCIS agents. Then he shook his head in agreement. "Yeah, I wonder too."

"Okay," Brad continued. "I'm actually going to head over to Tony's apartment and check on him. I will be back soon. If you need anything, you have my cell phone number, or talk to the nurse or Dr. Yabo."

"Tell Tony that I'm with Tim, and that I'm taking care of him. Tony needs constant reassurance." Gibbs said.

Tim's eyes opened at this point, and again he became agitated as his body became aware of the ventilator. Gibbs rushed over to his grandson and spoke calmingly. "Tim, shh. Hey buddy, you're in the hospital. The ventilator is helping you breathe. Just relax. It's okay. Yeah, that's it. Good job."

Dr. Pitt watched with admiration as Gibbs' even voice soothed Tim's anxiety. He would definitely tell Tony what an amazing job Gibbs was doing with Tim.


	37. Chapter 37

Brad knocked on Tony's apartment door. "Be right there!" an Israeli accented voice said.

"I'll get it," said another girl's voice.

Brad raised his eyebrows. Of course Tony would have more than one girl taking care of him if he got sick. Abby opened the door.

"Hey Brad!" she exclaimed. "Thanks for coming. Tony's pretty sick. How's Timmy doing?"

"Timmy's doing better," Brad said. "Where's my other patient?"

Ziva walked in. "Hello, Brad." Tony's in the bathroom. "He's throwing up again."

Brad nodded. "Alright, I'll go check on him." He walked into Tony's bedroom. Apparently Tony had finished puking, because he was lying back on his bed again.

"Hey, Tony," Brad said.

Tony looked up. He was in plaid pajama bottoms, and he was wearing an Ohio State t-shirt. "How is Timmy?" he asked.

"Tim is doing fine, Tony. How are you? You look like crap."

Tony groaned. "I feel like crap. When can I go see Tim?"

Brad sat on Tony's bed next to him. "I'm not sure, man. We can't afford for you to get him sick. Can I check you out?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Tony shrugged.

Brad took out a blood pressure cuff and placed it around Tony's upper arm. He also stuck a thermometer in Tony's mouth.

"You're blood pressure is 140/90. That's pretty high." The thermometer beeped. "101.1." Brad tsked his tongue and placed his stethoscope on Tony's chest. "Any trouble breathing?" Brad asked.

Tony shook his head. "Naww, just my… just my. Oh shit…" Tony took off running to the bathroom again. Brad looked concerned.

Ziva walked back in the room. "Ziva," Brad questioned. "How many times has Tony thrown up like this?"

Ziva contemplated the question. "Perhaps 20 times."

"Has he had anything to eat or drink?"

"He cannot keep anything in," Ziva replied.

"You mean down?" Tony asked as he walked back in the room and plopped on the bed.

"Darn American idiots!" exclaimed Ziva.

"You mean idioms?" Tony asked, perplexed.

"No," said Ziva with a twitch of her lip. "I mean you."

Tony chuckled genially, but then he pouted. "You see this, Brad?" he said. "I'm sick and my girlfriend is calling me an idiot. Do you see what I have to deal with here?"

Brad grinned. Tony and Ziva made a great couple. "I'm sure Ziva has to put up with more… You can be kind of a pain sometimes."

"They're ganging up on me!" Tony shouted, he fake-clutched his chest. "I'm mortally wounded."

"Hahaha!" both Ziva and Brad laughed. At least Tony never lost his sense of humor when he was sick.

"Tony," Brad said a little more seriously now. "You need to try to eat and drink something. You are severely dehydrated. Ziva… can you make Tony a piece of toast, and give him a small glass of gingerale."

Tony wrinkled his nose. "Ugggh," he groaned. Just thinking about food made him feel sick.

Brad looked at his friend. "I'm serious, Tony. If you don't eat, I'm going to bring you to the hospital and start you on IV fluids."

"Damn!" Tony said. "Hurry up with that food, Zee!"

Abby walked in with two pieces of wheat toast with a small amount of butter, and a glass of gingerale. Tony wrinkled his nose again, but he began nibbling at the food.

"Hey, Brad?" Tony said.

"Mmmm?" Brad acknowledged Tony.

"Is Tim going to go through all this shit his whole life?"

Brad sighed. He knew this would come up in conversation sometime soon. "Well, Tony," Brad began. "Children sometimes grow out of seasonal allergies. Sometimes kids even seem to grow out of asthma. Tim will never grow out of the things he is severely allergic to, like peanuts or bees and whatnot. There is a possibility though that the severity of his asthma will decrease as he gets older. Never the less, he will probably need to stay on corticosteroids for the remainder of his life. He'll probably also have to always carry around emergency prednisone shots. He will absolutely need to keep his emergency inhaler with him always, same with his epi-pen. Hopefully, though, he won't have to go to the hospital as much as he does now… It's very uncertain though."

Tony nodded, somewhat discouraged. "At least it's not an outright no," he said. "Poor Tim. The kid wants to be an NCIS agent when he grows up. With those medical problems, being a field agent seems pretty impossible."

"Well," Brad said. "Nothing is impossible, Tim's a smart perseverant kid, but yeah. It's pretty unlikely. He's young though; kids change their minds about what they want to do all the time."

Tony shook his head. "Not Tim. No, not Tim."

Brad looked at Tony. "Finish your damn toast, Dinozzo," he said. "I want to take some blood, then I'm going to take care of Tim. Ziva," he addressed Tony's girlfriend who had just entered the room. "I want him to drink a full glass of gingerale every half an hour. If he still can't keep it down, call me. Also, give him some more toast every couple of hours."

Ziva nodded in assent. "Okay, I will do that."

Brad did a blood test on Tony. Tony of course whined the whole time. When it was over, Brad affectionately patted his friends shoulder. "I'll see you later man."

"Yeah. Tell Tim I love him, will you?" Tony asked.

"Of course."

Back at the hospital, Brad took a decently long shower and scrubbed his whole body. He wanted to make sure he couldn't transfer any germs over from Tony to Tim. He changed into new scrubs and grabbed his white coat and stethoscope.

As he walked into Tim's bedroom, he smiled. Tim was sitting up in bed listening intently to a story Gibbs was telling him. Gibbs was waving around his arms enthusiastically and even making funny faces. Brad would never cease to be amazed at how well the NCIS agent interacted with kids. Brad knew there was some sort of tragic story in his past, something to do with a wife and daughter that he lost, but Brad never pried.

"Hey there, guys," Brad said. "Let's see how you're doing here Timmy boy." Brad glanced at the heart monitor. Tim's sinus rhythm was still pretty fast, but it wasn't too bad. Tim's hands moved in a deliberate looking way.

"He signed, please take it out," said Gibbs. (Tim still couldn't talk since the tube was down his throat. He wanted it gone).

"You know sign language, Tim?" Brad asked, impressed.

"Abby's been giving him lessons. He's a quick learner."

Brad looked at his patient. "Alright, well your stats are decent; I'll take you off the ventilator. But, Tim. If your stats go back down, I'm going to have to put you back on it."

Brad put the bed down flat (it had been up at approximately a 30 degree angle so Tim was more comfortable), and removed the pillow from under Tim's head. "Alright, Tim. You know the drill. On three I want you to cough as hard as you can, I'm going to pull on the tube. One. Two. Three."

Tim coughed and Brad gently removed the tube and switched off the machine. Tim began to harshly coughand gasp for air. Immediately, Brad took the mask he had placed next to him and slipped it over the boy's face. "That's right. Good boy. Deep breaths. You're okay. Good job. Breathe with me. In… out. In… out. That's it." Still holding the mask in place, Brad grabbed a needle and swiped Tim's arm with an alcohol swab and stuck it in Tim's arm.

"Epinephrine," Brad said in way of explanation. He rubbed the injection site for a minute. "Helps spread it out more quickly."

Tim's breathing started to calm down, and Brad slipped the green elastic band over Tim's head. "Okay," said Brad. "I have the oxygen up all the way. If your stats stay good all night with the mask, I'll switch you to a cannula tube in the morning. Hopefully we can get you out of the ICU in a couple days."

Tim nodded. "Can I have some water?" he rasped. His voice was scratchy and hoarse from having the tube down his throat.

"I got it," said Gibbs, walking into the hallway to buy a water bottle.

Tim looked at his doctor. "When can I see my dad?" he questioned.

Brad sat on the edge of Tim's bed as a nurse came in to switch out Tim's IV bags. "I'm not sure, Tim." Brad replied. "I don't know how contagious he is. He's been throwing up a lot."

Tim made a face. "Ewww."

Brad grinned. "I took some blood,"

Tim smiled at this. "Dad… dad." He coughed a little. "Dad doesn't like needles."

"I know he doesn't." Brad said. "He complained the whole time!"

Gibbs came back in and handed Timmy a water bottle. Gently, Gibbs took off the oxygen mask and Tim put the water bottle to his mouth. After a moment, Tim was breathing hard again, and Gibbs replaced the mask. "In and out, Tim." Gibbs instructed.

After Tim had his water, Brad looked pointedly at Agent Gibbs. "Now we fix your hand. Gosh, I feel like NCIS' caretaker here. Okay, let's see it."

Tim watched as his doctor lightly held his grandfather's hand. It was still pretty purple looking. "Well," Brad said. "The swelling has gone down enough. I'm going to put a fiberglass cast on for you."

Gibbs looked annoyed. "The brace or split or whatever is fine…"

Brad returned Gibbs' look of annoyance. Then Brad looked at Tim. "What color cast do you think I should give your grandpa, Tim?"

Tim's face split into a huge grin. "I get to chose?" he asked, looking at his grandpa for reassurance.

"If it makes you that happy, sure," Gibbs replied.

Wickedly, Tim grinned. "Pink."

Gibbs' jaw dropped. "You're not serious, are you Tim?"

"Naw…" Tim winced as he breathed in too hard. "How about—how about green?"

"Tim," Brad said. "No more talking, alright? Just relax and concentrate on breathing. I think you're right." Brad's grin was just as evil as Tim's original grin. "Pink will be perfect. Besides, I'll have to change the cast next week anyway. Then we can do green."

"Oh, Lord," Gibbs groaned pinching the bridge of his nose. "Tough Guy Super Special Agent Gibbs is being replaced by Agent Grandpa Gibbs with the emotions and the pink cast. Fan-freaking-tastic."


	38. Chapter 38

The next day, Jimmy was planning to stay with Tim so Gibbs could go home, change, shower and check on Tony. As Jimmy walked it, he looked at Gibbs' left wrist and laughed.

"A-a-a pink cast!" he gasped for air and he laughed. "Oh my goodness!"

Gibbs glared at Jimmy, and the man shut right up. "Okay, I'll be back in a couple hours." Gibbs bent over Tim's bed and lightly kissed the boy's forehead. "See you in a bit, Tim."

"See you soon, Grandpa," Tim replied. "Tell daddy I say hi."

"Will do." Gibbs walked out of the room.

Jimmy sat down next to Tim's bed. The boy still looked quite ill. Jimmy's medical mind inspected Tim. Nasal cannula: it meant the boy's breathing was getting better, but Timmy definitely needed the extra oxygen because he still seemed to still be struggling to breathe a bit. His O2 stats were in the low 90s. IVs: Tim was still being pumped full of fluids, antibiotics, and prednisone. Heart monitor: Tim's heart was still beating too fast because his lungs were still working too hard to breathe. Jimmy stopped.

"You still have a fever, Timmy," Jim said with a frown.

Tim nodded. "Yeah, Dr. Pitt said the same thing. He's going to play chess with me later!"

Jimmy smiled. Dr. Pitt was a great guy. "So, Tim." He began. "How the heck did you get Gibbs in a pink cast?"

Timmy laughed... then started to cough. Laughing aggravated his lungs. "Dr. Pitt… Dr. Pitt asked me what color I thought grandpa's cast should be. I was just joking, but Dr. Pitt thought pink was a great idea. Next week, he's going to change it to green."

Grinning, Jimmy patted Tim's hand. "Oh, my goodness Tim. You are the greatest kid ever. How about we play some Scrabble? Director Vance is coming to say hi, he's bringing Jared. They should be here soon. Then we can play four-man Scrabble."

Tim nodded eagerly. "Sounds awesome!"

After Gibbs showered and took a nice long nap in his own bed, he headed over to Tony's apartment. Walking in, he saw Abby sprawled out sleeping on the couch. Ziva was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea with Ducky.

"Hello, Jethro," Ducky greeted. "How is Timothy doing?"

"Tim's doing great…" Gibbs paused as Ziva began to smirk.

"What is that on your hand?" she asked.

"He broke his wrist punching a wall," Ducky replied as he too looked at Gibbs' hand. "Jethro!" he exclaimed, surprised. "Why is your cast pink?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes. He was never going to live this down. "It's all Tim's fault," he said. "Brad told him he could pick the color… Now, how's Tony?"

Ziva became more serious. "Tony is still throwing up. I called Brad, and he's going to come over after he gets the blood tests back." She said.

Ducky continued, "I think that Tony is highly contagious. You should not go near him, because I have a feeling you are going to have to take care of Tim for a week or two. You cannot afford to get ill."

Frowning, Gibbs said, "I don't get sick."

Ducky looked at Gibbs. "Okay, well, we want to decrease all probabilities of Timothy getting sick again. Therefore, I have forbidden anyone who has been near Anthony to go see Timothy… at least until we figure out how contagious Anthony is, and for how long. That means only you and Mr. Palmer can see Timothy, because the rest of us have been around Anthony. If Timothy is allowed to get out of the hospital, you will most likely have to take him home."

"Damn," said Gibbs. "Is Tony really that sick?"

Ducky nodded. "I think he may be having an extreme reaction to the mononucleosis virus. Believe it or not, if that is the case, it means he will be contagious for the next year. So, until Timothy's immune system is back to normal… maybe in three weeks or so… Anthony will not be allowed to see him."

Gibbs sighed. "Is Tony pissed?"

"He doesn't know yet," Ducky said. "Bradley is going to get back the tests. We want to make sure that is really what it is, before we forbid Anthony from seeing Timothy for that long. He will not be happy, but Anthony will do whatever is best for his son. He can always call him on the phone."

"Okay," said Gibbs. "Well, I don't mind taking care of Tim. I just feel ad for Dinozzo."

"I remember once when I was a young lad and one of my friends contracted the mononuclesosis virus…"

"I gotta go, Duck," Gibbs said, interrupting Ducky's story before he could fully launch into it. "I'll see you later."

"Alright Jethro, tell Timothy we say hello."

As Gibbs walked out, Ducky looked at Ziva. "Jethro does not ever listen to my stories…"

Ziva smiled. "I would love to hear your story, Ducky."

"Aah, you are so kind, my dear. Well, once when I was an adolescent, a long time ago…"

_Poor Tony… Anyways, like I said. I want Gibbs to have to be in the daddy position for a while. Tony will be pissed, but oh well. I don't know if any of this is accurate. It is true that mono can be contagious for up to a year and a half, but it is usually contracted from kissing or whatever. And some people have the virus, but don't actually get the symptoms. I don't know. Let me know if I'm like totally wrong or something. My cousin had mono a couple months ago, and my parents wouldn't let me go near him for over a month. (My immune system sucks).Whatever. He's supposedly still contagious. haha._


	39. Chapter 39

It was a week later. Luckily, Tony didn't have mono (just a nasty case of the flu… really nasty), but he was still contagious, so Brad wouldn't allow him near Tim… much to Tony's chagrin.

Tim was doing well, and Brad was allowing him to leave the hospital and go stay at Gibbs' house. Brad called Gibbs over so he could talk to him.

Dr. Pitt looked at Gibbs intently once they were out of Tim's earshot. "Are you sure you're okay with this, Gibbs? It's going to be a lot of work. He's still pretty sick."

Gibbs scowled. "It'll be fine. I took care of Dinozzo after the plague; I can take care of Tim."

Brad sighed, "It's different, Gibbs. Tim is a little kid. You're going to have to be on top of everything."

Rolling his eyes, Gibbs said, "Pshh. Tony acts like a little kid. I'll be fine."

"Alright," Brad said. "Tim's a lucky kid to have such a great family. I'll stop by your house tomorrow to see how everything is going."

Gibbs nodded. "Tim's a lucky kid to have such a great doctor."

Brad smiled. He knew compliments were not forthcoming with the seasoned agent. "Gibbs, I'll make you a list about what meds Tim needs to take and when. I'm also going to have to show you how to give him prednisone shots."

"I have to give him shots?" Gibbs asked, surprised.

"Mhmm," Brad replied. "No worries. I show you how to do it. It's not hard."

"Yeah," Gibbs huffed. "Says the guy who went through years of medical training."

Brad chuckled. "Touché."

Gibbs walked back into Tim's room and smiled as he saw the boy babbling on about Star Trek to a nurse. He sat down on the end of Tim's bed at looked at his grandson. "You ready to get out of here, buddy?" Gibbs asked.

"Really?" Tim asked excitedly.

"Yup. You're going to come stay with me for a while until your dad is better."

Tim squeezed his teddy bear Scruffles happily. "Kay. I just wanna get out of here."

"I'm sure," Gibbs said. He ruffled Tim's hair with his casted hand. It was now green, to Gibbs' great relief. He had gone grocery shopping one day for Dinozzo, and half the people in the store stared at him in his pink cast... which had been a great source of amusement for Tim. He had drawn all over it. (Now he was working on his new canvas, the green cast).

Twenty minutes later, Brad waltzed into Tim's room. He handed Gibbs a list of medications. Gibbs stared at the seemingly innocuous piece of paper. It was completely covered with writing.

"Can I talk to you out here?" Brad asked. "We'll be right back, Timmy." He said.

Gibbs followed Dr. Pitt. "Alright Gibbs," said Brad. "That's the list. I have taken the liberty of filling all the prescriptions I gave Tim. I've color coded all his meds. Green means morning medication, yellow means afternoon, red means night. More than one color, like green and red, means morning and night."

Gibbs frowned. He couldn't believe the amount of drugs that were being pumped into Tim's tiny body.

Brad continued, grabbing a plastic bag full of stuff. He began taking stuff out, two orange bottles of pills, with all three colors on their caps. "These are the antibiotics I'm having Tim take. They're very strong, and the side effects could be nasty. Keep a close eye on him, he may have some weird reactions since he's so sensitive to things. Most likely, he will feel nauseous on these. But believe me; the benefits are more important than the side effects. And, even if he feels sick to his stomach, you need to make sure he eats."

Gibbs nodded in understanding.

Brad went on, taking out a round, purple disc-like thing. "Advair. Corticosteroids. Morning and night."

An inhaler came out of the bag. "Maxair, if Tim is having an asthma attack or trouble breathing… as needed."

Another pill bottle. "Singulair. In the morning."

A box came out of the bag. "Prednisone shots." Brad took an orange (the fruit) out of his seemingly endless bag of materials. Then he took out a syringe. "Needle cap comes off, it's already prefilled. Push the plunger down a little so that a little of the medicine comes out, stick it in his upper arm or thigh… the injection sites need to be rotated every time you stick him." He plunged the needle into the orange. Then he handed Gibbs a different piece of paper. "This is a list of sites to inject in and how to do it. You have to push the needle in hard enough to go into the muscle. Then rub the injection site for one minute in order to get the medication to spread faster. Every morning. Your turn."

Gibbs did the things as instructed. He was trying to take all this stuff in stride, but it was much harder than he thought. He couldn't imagine what Tony went through when he first found out all the things he had to do to keep Tim healthy. "Gosh," Gibbs thought. "I wish I helped him more. I had no idea."

"Okay, good," Brad said as Gibbs correctly pushed his third practice needle into the orange. Brad took out another box of needles. "Epinephrine. Once a day. Every night. It's to help Tim breathe better at night. Asthma almost always gets worse at night. It works the same as the prednisone needles. But, also make sure Tim sleeps at approximately a thirty degree angle. It'll help him be able to breathe more deeply."

"Why haven't you been giving him this many shots while he's been here?" Gibbs questioned.

"He's been receiving all his meds via IVs," Brad replied. "But for now, I don't want to keep on an IV. His veins are small and…" Brad paused as Gibbs' eyes glazed over. "Never mind. But, Gibbs. Tim realizes he needs these shots, but he doesn't like them… obviously. Who does? But, anyways, when you have to stick him in places other than the arm… it hurts. Well, even the arm hurts, but anyways. He might give you a hard time. Usually he's pretty good about things, but shots twice a day is a lot. Just be patient with him. Kay?"

Again, Gibbs nodded.

"I'm also keeping Tim on oxygen therapy because his stats are still lower than I would like. He is to keep the nasal cannula on at all times. You got the nebulizer from Tony's apartment, right?"

"Yeah," Gibbs replied.

"Tony told you how to use it?"

"Yeah," Gibbs said again.

"Okay good. Tim knows if he needs an extra breathing treatment. Sometimes all he'll need is a puff of his inhaler; other times put him on the nebulizer. There are detailed instructions on the machine. "

Gibbs sank down heavily into a chair and put his hand against his face. "Damn." He was overwhelmed. Gibbs hardly ever got overwhelmed. He couldn't believe how much the happy-go-lucky kid he knew went through. He had seen Tim in the hospital go through stuff like that, but even at home? It sucked! He didn't want to have to stick Tim with needles twice a day. Tim hated shots!

"Gibbs," Brad said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know this is overwhelming, but truly Tim is on the mend. He wants to be at home. Being in the hospital for so long isn't good for kids."

"Okay, yeah." Gibbs said. "Tim and I will do just fine. I'll make Jimmy run to the library and get Tim some good books and movies too. Ducky can go buy some games. We'll use this as team bonding, even though Dinozzo can't come."

"That's the spirit Gibbs!" Brad exclaimed.

Gibbs scowled, "You sound like one of those preppy cheer people."

Brad became more subdued. "Gibbs, you have my personal cell phone number. You can call me anytime. Day or night. Seriously, I'm here for you and Tim. Also, Jimmy and Ducky know how to do this type of stuff."

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, but Jimmy and Ducky have to work. Tony, Ziva, and I are off the roster since my wrist is broken and Tony is sick, but Abby, Jimmy, and Ducky have plenty of other people at NCIS who depend on them."

"I know, but you can handle it." said Brad. "Last things…" he pulled a blood pressure cuff, an ear thermometer, and a peak flow meter out of his bag. "This is a blood pressure cuff. It's not hard to use. The instructions are right on it. The peak flow meter, it's easy too. Tim knows how to use it. There are three zones… red, yellow, and green. Tim will blow into it as hard as he can, if the knob only goes up to the red zone, you need to give him a breathing treatment, then test him again. If it's still in the red zone, he needs to come to the hospital. Yellow, is not really good... but it's to be expected. Most likely it will be around there. Green is great. It's all on the list. I want you to take his blood pressure, have him blow into the peak flow meter, take his temp, and take his pulse every time you give him any types of meds… so morning, afternoon, and night. Then you need to record it." Brad pointed to a different, empty list. "I will want to see this next check-up."

Gibbs took a deep breath. "Okay. Yeah. I got it."

"Alright, good. I'll give Tim his afternoon meds now; you'll just have to give him his night meds today."

Gibbs nodded again.

"Well, come on, then!" Brad exclaimed. "Let's get Tim out of here."

Gibbs and Dr. Pitt went back into Tim's room. Jimmy was sitting on the bed with Tim. Ducky had offered to stay a bit longer at work so Jimmy could take the rest of the day off in order to help Gibbs get Tim settled into his house. Tim looked at his Grandfather wearily, "can we just go now?" he asked.

"Yeah, kid." Gibbs said. "Let's skedaddle."

Brad removed Tim's IVs and other monitors. He told Gibbs and Jim to go out of the room when he went to remove the Foley catheter. Tim then tried to take off his nasal cannula. Brad shook his head. "Pssh, Tim. You know you're going home with that. It stays on."

Tim made a face. "Yeah, I figured," he said grumpily. "It makes me look like an old person."

Brad smiled a little as he adjusted it back under Tim's nose and ruffled his hair affectionately. Then he called Jimmy and Gibbs back into the room. Jimmy was pushing a wheelchair for Tim to sit in. He lifted Tim off the bed and sat him gently in the wheelchair.

"I don't need to be picked up, Uncle Jimmy," Tim said with a sigh.

"Aww shush, Tim," the curly-haired man said with a smile. "Just lemme take care of you for a little bit. I gotta go back to work tomorrow!"

Tim gave his uncle a small smile. "Alright," he said.

_Okay, so I know I've essentially sucked at updating. But… I finished my freshman year of college! =P Haha. And, so I've been sick (again… surprise, surprise). Sinus infection… Anyway, they put me on antibiotics and gave me breathing treatments… so I was thinking about my story. Time to get back to writing! It's summer now. (No duh, I've actually been off of school for a month now. Pathetic, I know… I should have updated). But, I have several chapters written. I just didn't post them. Bad, bad Danielle. I'll stop rambling. There will be more soon. Thanks to all for keeping up with my story. 3_


	40. Chapter 40

Jimmy drove home since Gibbs' hand was in a cast. Ultimately, Gibbs knew he wouldn't pay attention to the 'no driving with the cast' rule Brad had set, but he figured he'd let Jimmy drive. What the heck, right?

Not really. Despite Gibbs' detailed driving instructions, it took Jimmy almost an hour to get to Gibbs' house. "Damnit Palmer!" Gibbs moaned as Jimmy passed his house a second time. "Just pull into the driveway." Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ward off the coming headache.

Gibbs was sitting in the backseat with Tim. Tim was sleeping, with his head on Gibbs' lap and his legs sprawled out across the rest of the backseat.

Finally, the car stopped and Gibbs opened the doors. "You. Are. Never. Driving. Again." He emphasized to Jimmy. Gently, Gibbs shook Tim awake. "Hey, bud," he said. "We're home… FINALLY."

Tim blinked sleepily. "T'red…" he mumbled.

"I've got him Agent Gibbs," Jimmy said sheepishly.

Gibbs looked chagrined. "You don't have to call me Agent Gibbs, Jimmy," he said.

Jimmy nodded. "Sorry, Gibbs" he said as he lifted Tim up.

Gibbs grabbed the oxygen tank so Jimmy didn't have to carry that too. The three of them walked inside, and Jimmy set Tim on the couch tenderly. Setting down the oxygen tank, Gibbs pulled a blanket and pillow out of a closet. Lifting Tim's head up lightly, he set the pillow down. Then he tucked the blanket around Tim.

A couple hours later, Tim woke up. His whole body ached; he felt like he had hit by a truck. He looked around dazedly. "Daddy?" he questioned. Gibbs walked into the room.

"Hey there, Tim. You sure slept for a long time."

Tim slowly took in his surroundings as he woke up a little more. "Hi Grandpa," he said, cocking his head a little.

A corner of Gibbs' mouth turned up, as innocent green eyes gazed up at him. "You hungry, little man?" he asked.

Tim shook his head no.

"Well," Gibbs said. "I'm going to make you something anyway. How about some soup and toast?"

Tim shrugged. Jimmy entered the house. "Look who's awake!" Jimmy exclaimed with a smile.

Looking at his uncle, Tim exclaimed, "You brought me books!"

"Haha!" Jimmy laughed, setting the large pile he was carrying next to the couch. "Yes, I did."

Tim began rifling through the books. He finally settled on the first book of the 'Percy Jackson series.' Opening it, Tim laid his head back on the pillow, scrunched his nose a little (which was his habit when reading books), and started.

Jimmy looked at his nephew and shook his head good-naturedly. The boy was already engrossed in the book. Then Jimmy walked into the kitchen to help Gibbs with dinner.

When Jimmy and Gibbs came back into the living-room with some food, Tim's face was still buried in the book. He was almost half-way through already.

Gibbs looked impressed. "Did you just start that today?" He asked.

"Mhmm," Tim mumbled without looking up.

Gibbs set the food down. "Tiiim," he called.

Tim looked up. "I think that… when I read embark on a mission to read copious amounts of novels, my fragile state of equilibrium exponentially diminishes into a condition comprised primarily of ostentatious words not habitually utilized in everyday vernacular… that or a myriad of seemingly arbitrary sounds." Tim stated.

"Huh?" Gibbs grunted in response, his eyebrows raised high. Jimmy just laughed.

"When I read a lot, I tend to use big words," Tim grinned scratching at the nasal cannula under his nose; having it on for so many days tended to irritate his skin some.

"Hah!" Gibbs barked with a smirk. "No kidding. Now eat your food."

"Yessir! On your six, boss!" Tim exclaimed cheekily.

Gibbs patted the top of Tim's head fondly.

The phone rang. "Gibbs," Gibbs greeted.

"Hey, Boss," Tony answered.

"Hey Dinozzo. Your kid is giving me cheek," Gibbs said jokingly.

"That's my Tim!" Tony exclaimed. "Atta boy!"

Gibbs rolled his eyes and handed the phone off to Timmy.

"DADDY!" Tim shouted. Then he coughed. Shouting always made his lungs feel weird. "Oops, bad idea."

Tony smiled a little. "Take it easy, Tim. How you feeling?"

Tim looked contemplative for a moment. "Okay, I guess. I'm not hungry, but Grandpa and Uncle Jimmy are making me eat."

"Well, good. You need to gain some weight, kiddo."

"Mmm, I guess. How are you feeling?" Tim paused, and then asked in a mildly suggestive voice… "Is Aunt Ziva taking good care of you?"

Tony's eyebrows raised, maybe he wasn't being as good of an example to his son as he thought. "Tim! If you were here right now I would headslap you."

Tim smiled a little. "I'm just jokkinnggg." He groaned. "Seriously, though daddy. Are you getting better? I miss you." He frowned a little as his lower lip quivered.

"Aww, Timmy. I miss you so much." Tony said. "I'm on the mend. Dr. Pitt came over. He said I'll still be contagious for a little bit, but no worries. I'll be able to see you pretty soon. Grandpa will take good care of you in the meantime."

Tim nodded a little. "Okay…" he said, trying not to cry. He wasn't used to being separated from his dad for so long.

Gibbs sat down next to Tim, pulled him close, and kissed his head. "I'll take real good care of you, Tim." Gibbs said.

Tim leaned his head against his grandfather's side and put his arm across the man's stomach. "Okay."

A little while later, Jimmy, Gibbs, and Tim were watching Tim's favorite movie—_Big Fat Liar_. Timmy was curled up against Gibbs. Jimmy was leaning against a recliner.

When the movie ended, Gibbs looked at his watch. "8:30…" he mumbled. "Should we give him his meds, Jimmy?" Gibbs asked humbly. Although Gibbs was rarely unsure of himself, he still felt a little put out and nervous about taking care of Tim like that. It was a new feeling for him!

The medical student glanced at his own watch. "Mmm, yeah. Now would be a good time."

Gibbs grabbed all of Tim's medicine, some alcohol swabs, and a glass of water and brought it into the living-room. Jimmy looked at Gibbs. "Do you want me to do it, Gibbs?" he asked.

Gibbs nodded his head. "Yeah. I'll watch today, and then I'll do it tomorrow morning." He watched Jimmy and Tim intently.

"Alright," Jimmy said. He grabbed the blood pressure cuff and placed it around Tim's upper arm. "140/95. Whew. That's still pretty high, Tim." Jimmy said. Next he handed Tim the peak flow meter. "Blow." Tim complied. Finally, Jimmy stuck the thermometer in Tim's ear. "101.2." Jimmy made a face. "You're still pretty warm, kid." He said. "That's okay though. The fever helps fight the infection." Jimmy recorded all of Tim's stats.

Then, Jimmy handed Tim a couple pills and the glass of water. "Swallow those, Timmy," he instructed.

Timmy did, and he also used his advair inhaler.

"Okay, Tim." Jimmy said. "You gotta rinse. It helps keep you from becoming more immuno-compromised. Believe me; you don't want to get thrush."

Tim nodded. "Yeah, I know." He said. "Dr. Pitt always emphasizes rinsing… Apparently thrush sucks."

Jimmy went into the kitchen and grabbed his insulin out of the refrigerator. "We'll do our shots together, how's that sound?"

Timmy shrugged. "Don't like shots," he pouted.

Jimmy made a face. "Me neither, but we gotta do what we gotta do, eh Tim?"

Jimmy swabbed a small area on his stomach, and he expertly stuck in the needle with a small grimace. Needle sticks in the stomach hurt the worst. He also had to rotate injection sites. Placing the needle in the used needles box that Gibbs had brought in, he looked at Tim sympathetically. "Your turn, kiddo," he said. Jimmy avoided telling Tim that insulin shots generally hurt a lot less than the shots Tim got since the needles had to enter the muscle for Tim.

Jimmy picked up the epinephrine shot. He swiped Tim's right, upper arm with the alcohol and pinched the skin a little. "Okay, there's going to be a prick," Jimmy warned. Tim turned his head away, and whimpered as the needle went into his arm.

"Good job, bud," Gibbs praised quietly, as Jimmy gently rubbed the injection site with his fingers.

"One more, Timmy," Jim said "Usually we'll only have to do one a night, but tonight Dr. Pitt wants me to give you prednisone too tonight... since it's your first night not being in the hospital" He swiped the other arm with the alcohol swab, pinched it, and again pushed the second needle in Tim's left arm.

Tim's eyes filled with tears. After Jimmy rubbed the puncture site, he gently pushed the hair out of Tim's eyes. "You alright, buddy?" he asked, cupping Tim's face.

Tim nodded a little.

"You're a brave kid," Gibbs said comfortingly. "How about some ice-cream?"

Tim turned a little green at this suggestion. Quickly, he yanked off the oxygen tubing and dashed to the bathroom.

Jimmy and Gibbs looked at each other alarmed, and then ran after Tim.

Tim was throwing up into the sink, as Jimmy and Gibbs went into the bathroom. Gibbs frowned, and began to rub circles against Tim's back softly.

Jimmy snatched a washcloth from a cabinet and went to wet it in the kitchen sink.

Tim was sitting in-between Gibbs' legs on the floor when Jimmy went back in the bathroom. Gently, Jimmy wiped Tim's face with the washcloth. "Uhhh," Tim moaned, as he stood up and grabbed the sink counter for support. He leaned back over the sink. "False alarm…" he groaned, as he sank back down against his grandfather. "Dizzy…" he mumbled.

Gibbs held Tim close, as the boy's head dropped. "Tim? Tim?" he questioned.

Jimmy bent down and put two fingers against Tim's neck. "He passed out," Jimmy said. "He overexerted himself throwing up, so he's not getting enough oxygen. Keep him sitting up. I'll be right back."

"He's not breathing well," Gibbs exclaimed nervously.

"I know…" Jimmy ran out.

"Tim! Wake up!" Gibbs exclaimed.

Tim's eyes opened a little. "Stay with me, buddy," Gibbs said.

Tim eyes closed. "Damnit, Timothy Dinozzo! Look at me!"

Jimmy ran back in, and placed the nebulizer mask over Timmy's sweaty, pale face. "Wakey, wakey, Tim." Jimmy said.

Tim's eyes opened again. "Whaaa h'ppen?" he whispered.

"Shhh, deep breaths, little guy," Gibbs said.

Jimmy nodded. "You're alright, Tim."

"Oohh, sick…" Tim cried as he shakily stood back up.

Jimmy removed the mask, and Tim proceeded to empty his stomach contents again.

"Here we go. Rinse your mouth," Jimmy said. Afterwards he replaced the mask. "Keep breathing. You're doing fine."

Gibbs gently lifted Tim up, and carried him over to the couch. Jimmy followed behind with Tim's nebulizer.

"I'm going to call Dr. Pitt," Jimmy said. "Nauseous and vomiting is a common side effect with the antibiotics Tim is on, and I don't think we can switch him to other meds because he is allergic to penicillin which is the active ingredient… but I still want to check."

"Alright," Gibbs said, as he sat down next to Tim and began to rub his legs. They were radiating feverish warmth.

When Jimmy got off the phone, he went back in the living-room. "Yeah," Jimmy said with a frown. "Brad wants us to keep Tim on the antibiotics. Many times the original side effects go away after a day or two."

Gibbs looked disappointed. He thought bringing Tim home meant that Tim would automatically begin to get better… and quickly!

Gibbs looked at the boy who had fallen right asleep against his side. "Jimmy, stay here tonight. Go sleep in the guest room. You have to work tomorrow, and it's late, you're tired. My house is closer to NCIS than your apartment anyways. I'll stay up with Tim."

Jimmy looked mildly relieved. He was getting really tired. "Alright, thanks Gibbs. In about 10 minutes, put him back on the oxygen cannula. If he gets sick again, feel free to wake me up."

Gibbs nodded in agreement. Then he paused. "He goes through so much," Gibbs said sadly.

Jimmy sucked in his breath with frustration. "I know." He replied. "I wish there was more we could do for him. But, you know… often kids' asthma improves with age."

Gibbs shrugged somewhat nonchalantly. "Even when it's this bad?" he asked.

"Mhmm," Jimmy affirmed. "We just have to pray and hope that that's the case with Tim."

"I suppose." Gibbs responded. "Well, goodnight Jim."

"Goodnight Gibbs," Jimmy bent over the couch and ruffled Tim's his hair softly. "Goodnight, Tim. Sleep well."

Alisa123—I have asthma, and every time get sick, I have trouble breathing. My lung function was low… hence breathing treatments. =P Anyways, glad you're liking it!

Katyushinka—Haha. Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

Tigyr—Thank you! And thank you for keeping up with my story for so long!

Ginnyl—Haha. Thanks! I'm so glad school is over… except now I'm missing it a bit. Probably because both my parents have claimed me as their personal slaves… erm assistant… til it starts back up again. AAH!

Meegeesgeek—Thank you for the review! I love seeing how people react to specific parts of my chapters. I'm really glad you have kept reading. I hope you enjoyed your first year of college! =)

Everyone—Thank you for the reviews and alerts! It makes me so happy and excited to wake up in the morning and see them! YAY!


	41. Chapter 41

_Hiiii everybody. *meek wave* I know it has been a while… so sorry. I thought summer would leave me more time to write. Haha… no. Busy as ever! I think school just gives me the whole procrastination stuff and then I write more. Yeah, pathetic! I know! Boo me! Haha anyway, this is kind of a filler chapter… but a new one should be up soon because it is mostly written. Just needs a little more… uhh. Idk. You'll see. It's better. Thanks for sticking with me (and my incessant rambling). Hmmm._

A couple days later, Tim woke up feeling a much better. He was still tired and sore and achy, but his chest didn't hurt as badly. The last couple of days, he had been throwing up and keeping a steady high fever and had been pretty much out of it. Brad had instructed Gibbs to have Tim wear an oxygen mask at night and had inserted an extra prednisone shot into Tim's routine.

Gibbs had banned Jimmy from coming over because the man was not sleeping enough since he was always checking on Tim. Sitting up slowly, Tim took in his surroundings. Apparently he had fallen asleep on the couch again. Gibbs was sleeping at the end of the couch, in a very strange position.

Tim nudged his grandpa. "Grandpa?"

Gibbs' eyes opened. Groaning a little, he rubbed his neck. "Good morning, Timmy," he said. "Are you feeling a little better?"

Tim nodded, but then scowled. "I'm tired of this," he whined.

"I know," said Gibbs, gently as he placed his hand against Tim's forehead. "Your fever went down!"

Tim shrugged.

Gibbs looked at his grandson. The kid's freckles really stood out when his cheeks were so pale, and the ever-present oxygen tubing was starting to look natural against Tim's face. Tim's sandy blond hair was messy and partially covered his large green orbs which were always piercing with vibrant color.

Tim pulled his knees in to his chest. "When can I see my dad?" he asked quietly.

"It'll probably be another week, kiddo," Gibbs answered, ruffling Tim's hair gently. "I know, it sucks, but Aunt Ziva is going to come over tonight! I was going to invite some of the other family members over tonight too. They have all been asking to see you. Uncle Jimmy thought we could have a game night when you were feeling better. He thought you would like Scattergories. Do you think you would want to do it tonight?"

Tim perked up a little at this. "Okay!" he said.

In the meantime, Tony was also wondering when he could see his son. "Zivvaaaa," he whined.

Ziva rolled her eyes; Tony was being a real bug the last couple of days… or was it pest? It was never good to keep Tony cooped up in the house. "What, Tony?"

"I'm bored. I want to see Tim."

"Tony, you know you cannot…"

Tony sighed sadly. "But youuu get to see him tonight," he moaned. "All you have to do is scrub my germs away so Tim doesn't get sick."

"Yes," said Ziva with a sympathetic smile. "I will tell him how much you miss him. I know Tim feels the same way. He has been pretty down the last couple of days according to Gibbs. Apparently you can only watch so many movies…"

Toy sighed again, but then brightened up. "Ziva!" he exclaimed. "What if you bring Jethro over to Tim?"

Jethro barked at the sound of his name. Ziva looked impressed. "That is a good idea!" she said. "But I will have to bathe him to get off any germs you may have given him when you pet him…"

Tony guffawed. "Good luck with that! Jett does not take well to baths."

"He will be fine," Ziva replied. "Come on Jett! Let's go outside. I shall hose you away!"

Tony laughed. "It's hose you down."

"American idioms! I will never get the kiss of it."

Tony stood up and pecked his girlfriend on the cheek. "It's gist, honey," he said with a smile. "Thanks for doing all this."

Ziva grasped Tony's hand and brushed a delicate kiss on it. "Anything for you, my little hairy butt."

When Ziva came back in the Tony's apartment almost an hour later soaking wet and smelling like wet dog, Tony just smirked. "I told you, babe!" he said.

Ziva just scowled and proceeded to stomp off to Tony's bathroom to shower.

A couple hours later, most of the guests had arrived at Gibbs' house. Jimmy was passing around drinks. Most of the adults were happily chatting while they guzzled beer or soda. Tim was napping in his room, and Gibbs wasn't going to wake him. The poor kid was exhausted, despite the claim of feeling better. Brad had said that generally Tim was still not getting enough oxygen and that was causing his fatigue.

There was a knock on Gibbs' door along with some loud barking. "Damn!" Gibbs swore. "I knew I wouldn't be able to keep that dog away for long." Fornell looked over at Gibbs. He couldn't get over the fact that the NCIS team had allowed him to become part of their little family. It was the best damn thing that had ever happened to him… after his little Emily of course, but he only got Emily every other weekend.

"Aah, Jethro. If it'll make the kid happy, why do you care?" Fornell grumbled.

Gibbs shrugged. "Good point." He said as he opened the door. "Hey, Ziva," he said, brushing a kiss against her cheek.

"Hello Gibbs," Ziva greeted with a smile as she looked down at the excited dog whose tail was swishing through the air. "I brought a guest."

"I see." Gibbs groaned. "An uninvited guest," he smirked a little. Truly, he didn't mind, as long as it made Tim happy.

Bending down he looked the dog in the eye. "You better behave, Jett." Gibbs said. "Tim will be so happy do see you."

The dog barked happily when Gibbs mentioned Tim's name, and he began running around Ziva. This caused the leash to wrap around Ziva's legs. She looked at the dog warily as she stepped out of the trap. "Jett! Stop it!"

Jett complied.

Tim heard all the commotion as he walked out of his room and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Jethro!" he shouted happily. The dog heard Tim, and yanked the leash out of Ziva's hands and bounded up to his owner whining and barking.

Tim bent down and put his face against the dog's neck as he rubbed the dog's fur. Jett slobbered all over Tim joyfully. Tim wiped his face. "Gross!" he grinned.

Gibbs wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Brad walked in the open door holding a bag of chips.

"Brad!" Gibbs exclaimed, "you got off?"

"Yup." Brad replied running his hand over his buzz-cut hair wearily.

"Are you alright, Brad?" Ziva asked concernedly.

"I lost one of the first patients I ever had today. He was a friend of mine." Brad had been planning to go to a bar, give the bartender his keys, and drink the night away when he remembered Gibbs' invite. Figuring seeing friends would be better than the massive hangover he would have in the morning, Brad went. Plus, he hadn't seen Tim in a couple days… it would be good to check on him.

"I'm sorry," Ziva said sympathetically, giving her friend a gentle hug as they moved inside.

"Hi Doctor Brad!" Timmy grinned as he spotted the man.

"Hey buddy!" Brad said with a genuine smile. "C'mere."

Tim gave his doctor an energetic hug.

"Feeling better, huh?" Brad chuckled.

Tim nodded emphatically. "Have you ever played Scattergories?" he questioned enthusiastically.

Jett barked in response.

"Nope." Brad said with a laugh.

Tim grabbed his doctor's hand and pulled him toward the kitchen. Jimmy handed Brad a beer and slapped him heartily on the back. "Glad you could make it, Brad."

"Uncle Jimmy!" Tim cried. "Let's play Scattergories now!"

"Alrighty," Jimmy said.

Tim excitedly rounded the company up and herded them into the living-room.

Jimmy began to explain how to play. "Scattergories is a word game; it's not hard. First you roll this die… it has all the letters on it, except a few hard ones like Z or X or Q. Everyone gets a set of lists. For example: list one is '1. A Boy's name, 2. U.S. Cities, 3. Things that are cold… etc. Each team has to go through the list and come up with answers for the numbers, but they have to start with the letter that is rolled. For example, if we roll a W an answer for number one could be William… number two could be erm…"

"Witchita!" Tim shouted excitedly. Everyone chuckled at the young boy's enthusiasm. Jared fist-pounded Tim's hand in delight. He loved it when his little cousin showed up adults. It was hilarious!

"Witchita," Jimmy nodded in agreement, "and three could be water. But here's the catch. After each round (which is 3 minutes) we are going to go through our answers. If any are the same, they have to be crossed off (so if Tim and I both had William for answer one, neither of us get credit). Also, you cannot use the same answer twice in one round." Jimmy went on explaining a few of the more detailed rules, and then everyone got into teams chattering happily.

At the end of many rounds of play, Brad and Tim came in first place, Gibbs and Ducky followed behind by only 3 points, Jimmy and Abby tied with Jared and Vance for third (Jackie Vance had stayed behind with Kayla who was beginning to show signs of a cold), while Fornell and Ziva took the rear (trailing behind by many).

"I could do much better in Hebrew," Ziva complained good-naturedly. "Or even French, or Russian."

Everyone laughed.

Gibbs stood up and stretched. "How about a movie?" he asked. Everyone heartily agreed.

Gibbs went into his den where he kept his mostly small collection of movies. Tony was adding to it little by little. Tim followed him.

"What's up, bud?" Gibbs asked.

"Can I call my dad now?" Tim questioned timidly.

Gibbs mentally head-slapped himself. Tony had called earlier in the afternoon, but Tim had been sleeping, and Gibbs didn't want to wake him up.

"Of course," Gibbs said, pulling out his phone and pressing a speed dial number.

"Very Special Agent Dinozzo," Tony greeted.

"DADDY!" Timmy said.

Tony's face split into a huge grin. "Hey there! How's my little man?"

Tony and Tim talked for about 10 minutes while Gibbs picked out a family-friendly movie and set it up.

Everyone settled in as Jimmy walked in from the kitchen with bowls of popcorn for everyone. Tim took his popcorn with a smile and curled up against Gibbs' side.

Gibbs smiled and stroked Tim's arm affectionately. Things seemed to be looking up.


	42. Chapter 42

Tim and Gibbs had been watching a movie when Tim stretched out and looked at his grandfather.

"I'm going to go read my book for a little bit, grandpa," Tim said when the movie ended.

"Alright, bud." Gibbs replied. "Do you need anything?"

"No," Tim said, "I'm okay."

"Alright kiddo," Gibbs replied. "I'll check on you in a little bit. Kay buddy?"

"Kay," Tim said with a small smile.

Two hours later, Gibbs came in Tim's room with the both the epinephrine and prednisone shots and alcohol swabs, a couple pills, a glass of water, and Tim's corticosteroid inhaler.

He walked over to Tim's bed and sat on it. Tim scowled at his grandfather

"No!" Tim exclaimed. "I'm done. No more."

"Come on, Tim," Gibbs said with a frown. "You know we have to do this."

"Don't touch me! I'm tired of being a pincushion!" Tim shouted. The shouting of course made Tim's lungs tickle, and he began to cough harshly. When Tim's coughing didn't stop after a minute, Gibbs looked alarmed. He took the oxygen mask next to the boy's bed and turned the canister on. As he tried to put the hissing mask over his grandson's face, Tim pushed his grandfather's arms away. "Leave me *cough, cough, cough* leave *cough* me alone *cough, cough*!" he cried.

But, Tim was too small for his fighting to do much good. Instead, Gibbs firmly grabbed the boy's hands, took off the cannula tube, and held the mask over his face. "Breathe, Timothy," Gibbs instructed calmly, but sternly. Tim attempted to continue struggling, but soon gave up and gulped in the oxygen-rich air. Gibbs let go of Tim's hands.

Tim's green eyes filled with tears as he looked at his grandfather. "Noo Grandpa," he wept, his breath fogging up the mask. "I don't like them…"

"I'm sorry, buddy," Gibbs said quietly. He figured now was as good a time as any to break his rule. He hated hurting Tim, even if it was supposed to help him feel better.

Tim looked at his grandfather in surprise. He had memorized all of Gibbs' rules, and he knew that "apologizing is a sign of weakness," was up towards the top of the list.

"No," Tim said, his bottom lip quivering. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be such a baby. Are you mad at me?"

Gibbs shook his head, pulled his grandson in close to him, and kissed his head. He knew Tim's need for constant reassurance had something to do with his less-than ideal past. "Ehh, Timmy boy. You're allowed to have a temper tantrum once in a while. Psshh, you're better with needles than your father is."

Tim smiled a little at this. "I think I got my dislike of them from him…" he stated.

"Probably," Gibbs agreed. He handed Tim the pills and the glass of water. "Take these," he said, pulling off the oxygen mask and gently replacing the nasal cannula under Tim's nose and tucking the rest of the tubing behind Tim's ears.

Tim complied, then Gibbs handed him the Advair inhaler. "Now this." He said. Again, Tim did as he was told. "And rinse," Gibbs said, handing the glass of water again. Tim swished it in his mouth, and trudged to the bathroom sink to spit it out.

Gibbs opened Tim's nightstand drawer and took out the blood pressure cuff, the peak flow meter, the thermometer, and his chart to write it all down on. First Gibbs took Tim's pulse. "95…" he mumbled as he wrote it down. Next he took Tim's blood pressure… "130/85. Still high…" He stuck the thermometer in Tim's ear. "100.1. Nice, it's going down." Lastly he handed Tim the peak flow meter. "Blow," he ordered. Tim did so. "Yellow," Gibbs said, as he finished recording Tim's stats.

"Okay, good," said Gibbs as he put the medical supplies back in the drawer. Then, he looked at his grandson with mild remorse. "Ready?" he asked.

Tim closed his eyes unhappily, but he nodded. "Where?" he asked.

"Thigh, sorry kiddo." Gibbs knew injections into the thigh hurt Tim a lot, but he couldn't do it in the arm because those spots had been used in the last two days. Gently, Gibbs helped Tim take his pajama pants off so he was just wearing his boxer shorts.

Tim was biting his lip. Gibbs sighed. "You gotta relax, Timmy. Otherwise it's just going to hurt more. You know how much a needle hurts going into a tense muscle."

"I c-can't, grandpa," Tim voice trembled.

"Okay, then," Gibbs said. "Close your eyes."

Tim looked confused, but he trusted his Grandpa, so he did.

Gibbs began to massage Tim's temples. "You know, when I was a kid…" Gibbs began. He knew how much Tim enjoyed his stories, "I lost my mom when I was 10. My dad, he's a good guy, but…"

"Wait!" Tim interrupted. "You said he IS."

"Yeah…" Gibbs said.

"Your dad's alive?"

"Yeah…"

"How come I've never met him?" Tim questioned disappointedly.

Gibbs had the grace to look mildly abashed. The kid was too damn perceptive for his own good. "We don't talk much."

Tim opened his eyes and looked at his grandfather. "Well, you should call him." Tim said.

"I might," Gibbs said contemplatively, cocking his head vaguely. He then paused. "You ready now?"

Tim nodded his head slightly.

Gibbs swabbed a spot on Tim's upper left thigh.

"Your hands are cold, grandpa," Tim said with a brave smile.

"Yeah, I know." Gibbs ruffled Tim's hair. "Okay. Here we go, deep breath," Gibbs replied. He pushed the needle into Tim's thigh and Tim yelped loudly.

Gibbs then swabbed a spot on Tim's other leg. "One more, kiddo," Gibbs said apologetically as tears threatened to flow from the green eyes that were looking at him. Tim's lip trembled as he drew in shaky breaths. He hated to cry.

This time, as Gibbs stuck the needle in, Tim began to sob. "Owww," he wept. Gibbs rubbed the spot softly as Brad had instructed, and then he embraced Tim.

"It's okay, little man," Gibbs soothed, stroking Tim's back as the boy buried his head in Gibbs' shirt and wept. "All done."

Tim finished his sniffling, and then he looked at his grandpa. "It even hurts when you rub it after," he whimpered.

"I know, bud." Gibbs frowned. "You'll be all better soon, and then we won't have to do shots every day."

Tim took a shaky breath and scrubbed at his red-rimmed eyes.

"You ready for bed?" Gibbs asked.

Tim shook his head. "Gotta brush my teeth," he said.

"Okay. I'll brush mine too." The boy and man both entered the bathroom. Tim sat on the toilet seat, and scrubbed his teeth. Gibbs leaned against the sink and did the same.

Tim looked at his grandfather closely. "Fank yo pfor tkin cre me…"

Gibbs spat in the sink. "Spit before you talk, Tim," Gibbs said after he rinsed.

Tim obeyed. "Thanks for taking care of me, grandpa."

Gibbs shook his head. Only Tim would thank his own grandfather just for taking care of him. "You're welcome kiddo," Gibbs replied ruffling Tim's hair, "I love you. Now let's get you in bed."

"Will you finish telling me the story about your dad?" Tim asked meekly.

Gibbs grinned. "Sure." When Gibbs finished with his story, he looked at his grandson who was sleeping soundly. He grabbed the blanket at the bottom of the bed and gently tucked it around Tim's shoulders. "You're right, Timmy. I think I'm going to go call my dad," he whispered quietly.


	43. Chapter 43

The next day a knock erupted on Gibbs' front door. Tim was sitting on the couch reading while Gibbs was in the kitchen fixing lunch. "I'll get it, grandpa!" Tim said.

He cautiously opened the door and stared at the newcomer. "Who are you?" Tim questioned the intruder impolitely.

Gibbs walked into the room. "Dad?" he asked surprised. "I called to talk; you didn't have to come up."

"Nonsense Leroy," Jack Gibbs said. "You call me, tell me Tony has a kid that you're taking care of for a while and that you're a grandfather, and then expect me to not show up? Psh." He then bent down to look at Tim. "Hi there!" he exclaimed. "It's so nice to meet you…"

Tim backed up suspiciously. He remembered all too well when his father's dad, Dinozzo Sr. had shown up. Despite Gibbs' story last night, he didn't trust the old man at his door. After all, why should he trust another man?

"Nervous little fellow, isn't he?" Jack asked, staring at the young boy. Leroy had told him about his amazing little grandson, not Timmy Dinozzo's sickly appearance and dependency on oxygen."It's okay, son. I won't bite."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, and then embraced his father. "It's good to see you, dad." He then looked over to Tim. "Hey, buddy," Gibbs said bending down and putting an arm around Tim's shoulder. "This is my dad; you can call him Papa Jack. That's what Kelly used to call him."

Tim looked somewhat intrigued by the mention of Kelly. His grandfather had told him some about Kelly and Shannon when Tim was on the ventilator and couldn't talk himself.

Gibbs knew what Tim was thinking. He also remembered the incident with Dinozzo Sr. all too well. The man had shown up right after Tim got home from the hospital last time. Tim had every right to be distrustful of Jack.

"Timmy, I remember what happened when your father's dad showed up. Don't worry; my dad isn't like that shithead Dinozzo Sr."

"Leroy!" Jack exclaimed, astonished. "Don't use that sort of language in front of a little boy!"

Tim smiled a little at this… "Do you like Scrabble?" Tim asked shyly.

Jack's face split into a huge grin. "Do I ever!"

"Well… do you want to play, Papa Jack?" Tim bit his lip with apprehension. He decided to reach out to the older man a little, but he was still hesitant.

"Very much so, Timmy," Jack grinned. "Lead the way."

Smiling, Gibbs grabbed his father's bags and brought them up to the guest room. Then he went into the kitchen to grab some sodas.

Meanwhile, Timmy and Papa Jack were playing an intense match of Scrabble. When Jack used all seven letters in a word—clatters – Tim looked impressed. "Nice word, Papa Jack!" He exclaimed, now quite at ease with the man. Tim was a good judge of character.

"Darn!" Papa Jack pouted. "I'm still down ten points!"

Tim began to laugh, but laughing always irritated his fragile lungs… then he began to cough.

Jack looked scared and out-of-place as the boy began to wheeze. "Leroy!" he called, standing up and rubbing his great-grandson's back.

Gibbs came rushing in with Tim's inhaler. He shook it and handed it to the boy. Tim took a puff, and Gibbs bent down to look Tim in the eye. "Breathe through your nose, Tim. Shh. You're okay. In… out. Good. In… out. Okay, now use your inhaler again."

Tim did, and a few minutes later he was breathing normally again.

Tim then looked at his grandfather. "Why does Papa Jack call you Leroy?" he asked.

Gibbs chuckled. "That's my name, bud. Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

Smirking a bit, Tim said, "That's kinda a funny name."

A deep-throated laugh erupted from Papa Jack. "I named him after one of my best friends who used to work with me."

Gibbs nodded. "I still wish Uncle L.J. had a bit more normal name…"

A bark came from the outside. "Jethro wants to come in, Grandpa." Tim said.

At this, the older Gibbs burst into a fit of hilarity. "Y-y-your d-dog's name is Jethro?" The man laughed until tears ran down his cheeks.

Tim giggled a small amount. "We call him Jett. Aunt Abby named him after Grandpa.

"That young lady is an enigma all right," the older Gibbs stated with a grin.

"You've met Aunt Abby?" Tim asked.

"Oh, yes. I've met all of Leroy's extended family. Well, I thought I had until now." Papa Jack smiled at the little boy.

Gibbs' piercing blue eyes crinkled a bit. "He's relatively new to the family," he said.

"And guess what, Papa Jack!" Timmy grinned happily.

"What?" Papa Jack questioned, matching the boy's enthusiasm.

"Daddy is pretty much all better, and Dr. Pitt said I get to see him tomorrow!"

"How nice!" Papa Jack exclaimed.

Gibbs smiled. He was going to miss having Tim around all the time, but it was good that Tony was better. Tim was so happy to be able to see him again.

"Well, Timmy. I'm going to get dinner started. Dad, what do you want?"

Papa Jack shrugged. "Your famous steak?"

Gibbs chuckled. "You got it, dad. Timmy, steak sound good?"

"Sure!" Timmy replied. "And ice cream! Then can we watch another movie?"

"Absolutely," Gibbs nodded. Then he went off to grill his steaks.


End file.
